


We Love Like Fools

by Lady_Vibeke



Series: Family of Rogues [3]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Cinnamon Roll Barry Allen, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode: s02e03 Family of Rogues, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Getting Together, Lewis Snart's A+ Parenting, M/M, Mick Rory is a Softie, Multi, OT3, Pining, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Protective Barry Allen, Rare Pairings, Romance, Sibling Incest, Slow Burn, episode AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-05-18 13:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19335841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Vibeke/pseuds/Lady_Vibeke
Summary: "You're starting to show a little."Lisa stopped her cutting to beam at him with a hopeful look: "Yeah?" She glanced down at herself, as if expecting to notice something different in her shape. "Lenny can't wait to feel the baby kick," she said with a sigh. "It could happen any moment now."And he won't be here to feel it,Barry's mind automatically completed. It was written all over her face."We're going to find him, Lisa," he promised.He was going to give Leonard back to Lisa.Even if that meant breaking his own heart in the process.ORLeonard gets kidnapped and forced to rob mansions.Lisa is in a delicate situation and needs help to get him back.Barry provides help... and ends up a little too involved as they go.





	1. Red and Gold

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say? I did it once, I'm doing it again. I love Lisa, I love Leonard, I love Barry... of course I couldn't help writing this.  
> This story has been dancing in my mind for a while, now, and I finally found the inspiration to write this. It's basically a different take on ep 3 of season 2, Family of Rogues.
> 
> You were warned: this story contains sibling incest themes. If you want to yell at me that I'm sick and twisted, feel free to do that, just be aware any non constructive comments will be filtered. Have fun with the hate.

_And the dreams I had_  
_Were red and gold_  
_And the little stream_  
_Became a flood_  
— Red & Gold, Fairport Convention

 

*

 

Barry couldn't wait to get home, have a shower, order pizza and then fall asleep on his couch watching random trash on TV.

The day had been long and uneventuful. Paperwork was more exhausting than a double shift on the field and things had been uncharateristically quiet in the criminal world, in the last few weeks, so his life was starting to get rather boring, so much that he almost wished some sort of catastrophe would come and spice everything up at least a tiny bit. Just for fun.

He'd just left the police station when he noticed the silhouette standing in the dim lamplight a few steps from him, and in that very moment he knew his wish was about to be fulfilled.

"Hello, Barry," greeted a voice smooth as velvet.

Barry groaned inwardly. Before him stood Lisa Snart, looking curvier and sexier than ever.

"You!” he hissed, checking the street to make sure this wasn't some sort of trap. It didn't seem the case.

Lisa took a couple of lazy steps toward him, moving into the full light. Barry gulped.

He wasn't the type of man who liked to objectify women, but his brain just couldn't help register the slight change in the shape of Lisa's body: her sharp edges had softened – the cheekbones, the jawline, the hint of clavicles he could see under the open leather jacket, her whole appearance looking more feminine than ever.

Especially on the _front._

Barry was trying really hard not to stare at her cleavage. Whatever had happened to her in these last few months, it surely had done her good.

“Relax, Barry," she said smoothly, her tone a perfect echo of her brother's. "I’m not here to wreak avoc.”

Barry crossed his arms with a skeptical quirk of a brow. “Then what are you here for?"

Lisa bit her bottom lip, looking around uncomfortably. "I need your help. I don't know who else to turn to." She wrapped her arms around herself, pressing her lips togther before rising a desperate gaze to Barry: "It's Lenny. He's-"

Barry's brain glitched for a second.

"Lisa." He grabbed her shoulders, squeezed her arms gently. His mouth was suddenly very dry. "Did something happen to Snart?"

Lisa nodded. "Somebody broke into our apartment. When I arrived, everything had been torn to pieces and he was gone."

Her shock looked genuine, but...

"Why would someone kidnap your brother? I mean, he's _Captain Cold._ Everyone in this city is afraid of him."

"I don't know, okay?" she snapped. "But I know he's in trouble. Lenny would never leave me like that, especially now that-" She trailed off, facing away. She seemed to take a moment to get herself together, then finally breathed: "He wouldn't leave me."

If this was just an act to manipulate Barry, she surely was doing a damn good job. Deep down (and maybe not so deep), Barry had to admit, at least to himself, that he was a bit worried about Snart. Also, he couldn't stand the broken look in Lisa’s huge blue eyes silently begging him for help.

"Okay," he sighed, his exhaustion turning into something darker and way heavier. "We should probably talk about this somewhere more private."

Still clutched between his hands, Lisa licked her lips and nodded slowly with a deep, long sigh. "Thank you."

Barry was about to ask where she wanted to go, when she turned around a opened the shiny black spider behind her.

He scruched his nose. A _loan,_ for sure.

"Where's your monster bike?"

Lisa grinned innocently: "Let's just say I'm going to be driving something safer for a while."

 

*

 

"You should take that off. For your own safety."

Barry followed Lisa's gaze to his jacket.

Oh, right.

He was still wearing his work gear. The print on his back was literally screaming _forensics_ and collecting nasty glares from all over the pub. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to walk into a criminal hub like the _Saints & Sinners_ with a CSI jacket.

Barry quickly got rid of it and crumpled it into his backpack, much to Lisa's amusement, which she tried to hide behind a sip from her coke.

Barry listened carefully as she explained in more detail what had happened. It sounded plausible: Snart had a lot of enemies and it could have been any of them to take him. It was lucky that Lisa had been out, otherwise they might have tried to hurt her. Barry shuddered: Leonard Snart was no saint, he could perfectly look after himself, even if that should require extreme measures. Whoever had kidnapped him must have been impressively strong and clever.

At some point, Barry couldn't ignore his hunger any longer and ordered a couple of cheeseburgers. Lisa just ordered more coke.

"You sure you don't want one?" Barry offered halfway through the first cheeseburger.

Lisa turned a little green. "No, thanks," she mumbled with a faint grimace. "I can't really stand- Uh, excuse me."

Barry gaped as he watched her bolt up and rush to the restroom. A little worried, he grudgingly abandoned his dinner to follow her; he found her with her head over the toilet bowl, retching the scarce contents of her stomach.

He dashed by her side and helped her pull up, then guided her to the sink and handed her paper towels after she rinsed her mouth a few times.

Lisa took several deep breaths, hands clutching the edge of the sink; when she tried to move, she swayed and it was only thanks to Barry's superspeed that he was able to catch her just before she collapsed.

"Oh, hey!" He gathered her into his arms, holding her up. "Do you need- Should I get you to a doctor?"

Lisa brought a hand over her mouth and shook her head weakly. "No. It's okay, I promise."

She wasn't just pale. She looked like she could pass out any moment.

"You look awful, Lisa. Let me-"

"Really, Barry, it's okay." She offered him a reassuring smile, then glanced down, just for one second, and only then Barry noticed the hand she was protectively resting over her stomach. Her smile grew warmer as she met his widening eyes. "I'm pregnant."

Barry's jaw dropped.

No bike.

No alcohol.

No crime.

_Of course._

"Oh. _Oh._ You're- That explains-" His eyes dropped to her breasts before he could stop himself. "Shit."

"Just give me a moment, okay?"

"Okay. Okay." Barry helped her lean back against the sink. There was a question burning on the tip of his tongue. It was none of his business, but... "Uhm, can I ask who...?"

Despite everything, Lisa _laughed._ "Oh, kid, I don't think you're ready to hear this."

"That bad?"

She met his eyes, deadly serious: "The answer would probably leave you frozen."

Barry's curiosity flared.

"Try me."

Lisa smirked at him – a slightly sad smirk.

"I just told you."

No, she hadn't. Had she?

"What do you m- Wait." Barry froze (yeah, point taken) as her words kicked in. "Do you- You mean _Leonard_ -"

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Barry didn't know how he felt about that. He'd always known the bond between the Snart siblings was stronger and deeper than any brotherly bond he'd ever seen, but this... this was different. He wasn't as surprised as he should have been, though: he'd always sensed a subtle sexual vibe between Leonard and Lisa; he just had never been able to place it... until now.

He led her back to their booth, half expecting her bag and his backpack to be gone, but everything was still there, untouched. Criminals did have a code, it appeared.

He fished twenty bucks from his wallet and left them on the table, next to his unfinished cheeseburgers, then offered his arm to Lisa as they walked out. Her step wasn't very firm.

When they got to the car, Barry knew straight away that she was in no condition to get behind the wheel.

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

Lisa shrugged, eyes watering, and muttered in an unbearably thin voice: "There's not much left of it."

"Oh." A crack opened in Barry's heart. He felt a flood of sympathy leak from it. "I'm sorry."

The hint of a bitter smile tugged at one corner of Lisa's lips. "Yeah."

Barry sighed as he looked at her. He had never seen Lisa Snart like this – fragile, helpless, vulnerable – and it was doing things to him. Damn his softness, he shouldn't be thinking what he was thinking, but she was in dire need of help, and she was _pregnant..._

"Hey, I know I'm gonna regret this, but... I have a spare room at my place?"

 

*

 

After getting her to his apartment, he sped to the address she gave him to get her some clothes. Lisa hadn't been kidding: the whole place had been completely devastated.

When he got back to Lisa, Barry realised that, in his hurry, he'd collected some of Leonard's clothes, as well. He saw Lisa's eyes get misty as she picked up a large grey hoodie and held it tight to her chest.

Barry bit his lip. He could understand her emotional state: a part of him was secretly fretting, too. Not knowing where Snart was, if he was okay... yeah, he didn't like that, either.

"Why don't you take a shower while I get your room ready?" he suggested, hoping that it would ease at least a small part of her distress.

Lisa lowered the hoodie, cast him a watery sly look: "That's going to take you about three seconds."

Barry blushed. "I'll also go get some groceries," he improvised. His fridge was constantly empty, anyway: it wouldn't hurt to have some proper food in the house. "I'm not used to... having guests. On a second thought I should probably get takeout. I'm not very good in the kitchen. Wouldn't want to poison you or something."

Lisa's features spread into a fond expression. "You get the good stuff," she said. "I'll cook."

Barry arched his brows in surprise. For some reason, he hadn't pegged Lisa as the cooking type.

"What?" she protested. "I'm a great cook. Lenny taught me."

"He what, now?"

"Did you think he'd let his baby sister grow up on junk food?"

No, Barry thought, and then wondered what she meant by that.

This was how Barry found out about the monster hiding in Leonard and Lisa's past – a monster they used to call Dad and that showed them a cruelty no one worthy of such a name should be capable of, especially towards his own children.

And suddenly eveything made even more sense: to know what Leonard and Lisa had gone through together, to know how much Leonard had fought for her, to give her a decent childhood despite her scars, the split lips and the broken bones. No one, Barry realised, could ever love Lisa more than her own brother, and even though Barry felt a tiny jab of jealousy at this realisation, he also found himself smiling, because it was a love so deep and pure that he, plain Barry Allen, never stood a chance.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Lisa wondered while showing Barry how to dice garlic. She was trying to teach him to cook real pasta but so far Barry had only managed to goofily mutilate half a dozen innocent cloves.

Barry looked up from his poor work: "What?"

"Me and Lenny," Lisa said, then glanced down at her hand splayed over the barely visible curve of her belly. "This."

Barry smiled, shaking his head in denial. "After what you just told me, it only makes sense," he said. "You've got a string of genes in common... so what? I'm a scientist. I know blood is just blood. Why would it bother me?"

_Apart from the fact that I have a crush on your brother..._

Lisa nudged him with her elbow, her face a little less pale than before.

"I'm impressed," she admitted. "You're really kind to the bone, aren't you?"

Barry felt very hot all around his neck and ears. This wasn't bad. He'd feared bringing Lisa into his home would feel weird and awkward, but, surprisingly enough, it didn't. There was something pleasantly soothing in cooking and chatting, something Barry had missed, ever since moving out from the West household. It was good – having company, someone to laugh with; he just would have never expected that he would get all domestic with Lisa Snart, of all people.

"So," he bagan conversationally. "How far along are you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lisa's lips curl.

"Fifteen weeks."

Barry considered her profile: she was still lean and fit, and one who didn't know her maybe wouldn't notice, but there was a light swelling in her abdomen, stretching out the front of her tight-fitting top where it would normally fall flat.

"You're starting to show a little."

Lisa stopped her cutting to beam at him with a hopeful look: "Yeah?" She glanced down at herself, as if expecting to notice something different in her shape. "Lenny can't wait to feel the baby kick," she said with a sigh. "It could happen any moment now."

 _And he won't be here to feel it,_ Barry's mind automatically completed. It was written all over her face.

"We're going to find him, Lisa," he promised.

He was going to give Leonard back to Lisa.

Even if that meant breaking his own heart in the process.

 

*

 

Three days later he told her over breakfast: "I may have a lead."

Lisa looked up from her chocolate porridge with eyes full of hope: "Really?"

Barry nodded. He'd been thinking about it for a while: the police were investigating a couple of robberies in top security mansions where the safes had been blasted open and cleaned up.

"And you think Lenny might have something to do with it?"

Barry put two sugars in his coffe and stirred. "The police found water on the floor around the safes. Water that could easily have been-"

"Ice," said Lisa breathlessly.

"Yeah."

"You think they're using Lenny to rob these places?"

"Likely."

Lisa frowned: "Why would he be helping them? We've been lying low since we found out-" Her voice broke. She sniffled and tried to hide it behind the back of her hand. Barry heard her murmur something like _'Stupid hormones'_ under her breath.

"You said your house had been raided," he continued. "What if they were looking for something they couldn't find? Something extremely valuable to your brother."

"Me?"

"If they're threatening to harm you if he doesn't do what they say..." Barry saw  Lisa shiver; it made him shiver, too. "Leonard would do anything for you."

A pensieve silence fell between them. At the very least, Barry mused, they knew Leonard was alive and presumably unharmed.

"I do not like this," said Lisa after a while.

"Neither do I. But if I'm right, Lisa, you need protection." Barry reached across the table to put a hand over hers. "I can try to find out more, but I need to know you're safe. I could ask Caitlin and Cisco if you can stay with them at STAR Labs during the day."

Lisa was scrutinising him intently, her thumb brushing absently over his.

"Why are you doing this, Barry?"

The question caught him off guard. Couldn't she see?

"Despite who you are, neither you nor Leonard deserve this," he answered whole-heartedly. "Nor does your child."

He saw a flicker of warmth light up her face. She had always been strikingly beautiful, but there was something about her, now... a brightness, a glow...

"Lenny's right," she said with a wink that roused a flutter of butterflies in Barry's stomach. "You really are a good kid."

 

*

 

"Do you have any idea what the protein RDA is during pregnancy?"

"What?"

"I also read you're not supposed to eat raw or scarcely cooked animal products, but iron is very important, so I'm not really sure..."

Caitlin walked up to him, who was sitting with his feet crossed over a desk, and checked the forum page he was scrolling through with a perplexed scowl. "Uhm, Barry? Is there-" She cleared her throat uneasily, exchanging an alarmed look with Cisco. "Is there something you maybe need to tell us?"

Barry didn't even bother to interrupt his reading. "Oh, I'm just asking for a friend."

"A _friend."_

"Yup."

"And are you in any way _involved_ with this friend?" Caitlin pressed, as gently as only she could. "As in sexually, perhaps?

Barry blushed to his toes. What was wrong with her? Why would she think-

"No!" he yelped, maybe a little too anxiously. "Of course n- Look, it's Lisa, okay? I kinda... took her in."

Cisco nearly fell off his chair: "Lisa as in _Lisa Snart_ aka Golden Glider?"

"Do we know any other Lisas?"

"You _took in_ Lisa Snart?" Caitlin exclaimed in a high-pitched squeal.

"Wait," interjected Cisco. "Lisa Snart is _pregnant?"_

Barry bit his tongue.

"Shit," he grumbled between his teeth. So, this wasn't exactly how he'd planned to break the news and it was escalating far too quickly. Also, the guys weren't taking this as lightly as they were supposed to. "Okay, this conversation is over," he said, pocketing his phone. "I'll just keep googling stuff."

"Wait!" Caitlin tagged after him and seized him by an arm to turn him around. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay?" she offered. "I can help you... _help her._ But you're going to have to give me a little more than that."

Barry wasn't sure how deep in detail he should get. If he was going to ask the guys for assistance, however, he at least owed them the truth.

"She came to me a few days ago, told me Snart had been kidnapped. I was afraid someone might use her and their baby as leverage to make him do stuff, so-"

Cisco let out an abrupt laugh: "Hey, that's funny: I thought you just said Lisa is having her brother's baby."

Barry stared sternly. "That's exactly what I said."

Cisco's face morphed into genuine shock: "Wow, that's f-" He intercepted Barry's warning glare and immediately backed down: "Interesting. That is very interesting."

Barry groaned. He took his feet off the desk, sat with his head between his hands, wondering how this could ever work – Lisa spending every day here with Caitlin and Cisco under their suspicious eye, the judgemental looks they were going to exchange...

This wasn't going to be easy for any of them.

"I need your help, guys," he sighed. "We need to find Snart and make sure no one gets to Lisa in the meantime."

 


	2. Slowly, And Then All At Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry never signed up for any of this... but he's loving it more than he should.

Barry woke up wondering how many things could possibly go wrong during the next few hours.

He was supposed to leave Lisa at STAR Labs until the end of his shift and he was rather nervous about that: Cisco and Caitlin had a bit of prejudice about her (not entirely unjustified) and Lisa, being the shameless tease she was, was probably going to sass her way through the day for the mere sake of making Cisco and Caitlin uncomfortable.

Barry smiled involuntarily.

The thought of Lisa stirring chaos in the lab was somewhat entertaining. It was a pity Barry wouldn't be there to see that: he knew how mischievous she could get.

It was almost unbelievable how different she was, when it came to the sake of the child she was carrying. Lisa Snart may have been a hot mess as a human being, but she was absolutely formidable as a mother.

Barry was fascinated by her impeccable punctuality in taking her supplements – vitamins in the morning, iron and vitamin C at lunch, folic acid in the evening – and couldn't help but notice how her healthy eating habits were slowly affecting him, too. In the best way. He was paying more attention to what he ate and, most importantly, he was learning how to cook (an activity he discovered he enjoyed very much, especially with Lisa by his side teasing him about his disasters).

He could see how much she cared for her baby, and how she tried to stay positive despite desperately missing Leonard and being so worried about him. It was incredible how an abused little girl had grown up to become such a badass woman.

He admired her strength.

He admired more than that, actually, but he'd rather not think about it.

Barry frowned when, walking past Lisa's room (When had it become _Lisa's_ room, by the way?), he found it empty. An instinctive surge of panic took over him before his brain registered the singing coming from the living room. Yawning, he dragged himself towards the source of the singing and found Lisa collecting empty mugs from all over the place. On the coffee table lay a neat pile of newspapers; the couch had been smoothed and its cushions gracefully positioned all over it. Everything looked shiny and fresh.

Barry's stomach tightened when Lisa beamed at him. Her smile revelaed her slightly crooked front teeth. Most people would consider it a flaw; Barry found it lovely.

“Morning, sleepy head,” she greeted.

Barry gaped in utter disbelief: he hadn't seen his apartment this tidy since... Well, since moving in.

“Wow. What happened in here?”

Lisa carried the four mugs she had collected to the kitchen sink. Barry followed.

“I woke up early and felt like being productive,“ she said, bright as the sun itself. “I was bursting with energy and this place needed a clean up.“

Barry laughed as he watched her shuffle up and down the kitchen, cheerfully collecting what he assumed were the ingredients for pancakes. He wasn't a morning person, but waking up to this was... nice. More than nice, actually. It was something he could definitely get used to. Not that he ever _would:_ this was a temporary thing, he was perfectly aware of it.

He observed her for a while, mesmerised by her movements and the song she was absently humming while whipping the batter together. The kitchen was unusually tidy, too, and pristine clean.

Barry had no control whatsoever on the big grin that took over his face.

“I think you're nesting.”

Lisa stopped in the middle of licking some sugar off her finger. She gave him a puzzled look: “What?”

“It's just...” Barry couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. There was an adorable smudge of flour on Lisa's cheek. “I read expecting women tend to clean and organise a lot as the pregnancy progresses. You know, to make the home nice and cosy for when the baby comes.”

Lisa looked positively impressed. “Well, well, someone has been doing their homework.”

“You shouldn't exert yourself, though. In your condition-”

“Oh my god, you're just like Lenny!” groaned Lisa. “He won't even allow me to water the plants. Seriously: I can't just eat and sleep, guys.”

 _Guys,_ she had said. As if Leonard had been there and she was complaining with him as well.

Being put on the same plane as Snart made Barry ridiculously happy. Which was, in fact, _ridiculous_ because he _wasn't_ on the same plane as Snart, in any way.

Snart was her brother. Her lover. The father of her child.

Barry was just... Barry.

“I'll get you some books,” he replied, trying to sound optimistic despite suddenly feeling a bit dejected. “Oh, I have Netflix! You could watch stuff on Netflix.”

“I want to help you find Lenny,” Lisa argued, but Barry was determined to not let a pair of pretty eyes corrupt his principles. Lisa shouldn't be exposed to any more stress.

“Me and the guys are on it, okay?” he said patiently but with a firm tone that he hoped would put an end to the issue. “You just need to rest, take your vitamins and stay out of trouble.”

Lisa turned to him and, unexpectedly, rose to her tipotoes to brush a soft kiss on Barry's cheek.

Barry stood there like an idiot, his cheek burning where Lisa's lips had touched it. He brought a hand to the spot, feeling a funny tickle under his fingertips.

“What was that for?”

Lisa's eyes pierced him with a sharp, cautious look. “Nobody's ever cared so much for me except Lenny,” she muttered, and Barry realised, with a painful pang in his heart, that it was probably true.

“You know,” Lisa continued, a shadow of sadness now darkening her face. “When I was little, he would come to my room, lie down next to me with a knife under the pillow.” She met Barry's shocked look, then said: “To make sure Dad wouldn't hurt me.”

Barry had a sudden and very intense desire to find Snart Senior for the mere pleasure of breaking his nose. His mind was buzzing with pictures of young Leonard holding baby Lisa to his chest, praying everything would be alright.

“Was he happy?” he asked, and a part of him wondered what sort of masochistic instinct was making him ask that. “When you told him he was going to be a father?”

He was almost expecting to see Lisa sadden. She didn't. A touched expression softened her face as her gaze became distant, lost in a memory Barry had no access to. And yet he could understand.

“He was overjoyed,” she said, a fond shimmer in her eyes. “Kept saying our baby would be the most loved and cherished brat ever.”

Yeah, that sounded like something Snart would say. It wasn't as hard to picture as Barry would have thought – Leonard Snart as a father. A _loving_ father. It couldn't have been more different from the man Barry initially met – Captain Cold, the villain, the criminal – and yet it made perfect sense, somehow. There was much more to Leonard than he allowed the world to see, and Barry had caught glimpses of it, and liked every bit of them.

“You know,” he began pensievely. “I made him promise not to tell anyone who I really was, but I'm glad he told you. Otherwise you couldn't have come to me for help and-”

“He didn't tell me.”

Barry frowned. “No?”

“Lenny always refused to reveal the true identity of the Flash, despite my pressing curiosity.“ The way Lisa said that told Barry she was proud of her brother for being so honorable. Then she glanced at Barry with a sly smirk: “I just put two and two together. You can wear all the costumes you like, Barry Allen, but those eyes and that ass are pretty unmistakable.”

Heat flared from Barry's neck up to his ears. He shook his head in amused disbelief.

“You are impossible.”

Lisa's laugh fueled the warmth in Barry's cheeks and made it spread all through him. They were close, closer than he had realised, and he was utterly unprepared to face the stunning blue of her eyes so directly. He felt something – a spark, a change in the atmosphere – and he was sure Lisa was feeling it, too. What was it they were feeling, though?

Barry's heart hammered in his chest as the ghost of a thought formed in the back of his mind. A crazy thought, really. Absurd. Unthinkable, even. But...

He saw Lisa's lashes flutter as their faces grew closer, her lips parted slightly. He felt a shiver down his spine. Was he really... Were _they_ really...?

No, they were not. This wasn't fair to any of them, Leonard included.

He pulled back, and so did Lisa. They stared at each other for a moment, both rather confused by what had nearly happened. Then, after a brief hesitation, Lisa regained her usual cheeky attitude:

“It's hot in here, isn't it?”

Barry swallowed, nodding. “Yeah, it's... We should get going.”

“Yeah,“ Lisa bit a chuckle between her teeth. “Wouldn't want to be late meeting the nerd squad.”

 

*

 

Barry had a feeling he was releasing a fox in a henhouse.

He didn't have much of a choice, though, did he?

When he introduced Lisa into the lab, Caitlin and Cisco were exchanging frantic whispers. A lot of gesturing was involved. As soon as they noticed someone had entered the room, the whispering ceased at once and Caitlin and Cisco prompted twin (and super fake) welcoming smiles.

“Lisa! Hey!” Caitlin chirped, like it was a delightful surprise to see her there. Barry knew exactly how much it _wasn't;_ he owed Cait and Cisco for that. They still held a big grudge for what the Snarts had done last time they met.

But Lisa didn't seem to be aware of that, or simply didn't care. She strutted into the room, confident like a queen descending among her people, and offered Cait and Cisco a big, bright smile.

“Hello, guys. Looking great as ever, Cisco.”

Cisco _blushed._ Oh, Barry was never going to let him hear the end of this.

“Likewise, Glider.“

“So, uhm,” Caitlin came forward, casting Barry unsure glances, as though Lisa had been a feral cat that couldn't be trusted to be approached. “Barry told us about your, uhm... predicament.”

“I'm sure he did,” Lisa drawled. Her face was pretty much that of a cat on the prowl, in fact.

Caitlin smiled nervously. “Okay, first of all let's get you seated. You look a little pale.”

“That's just my complexion without a tan," scoffed Lisa with an eye-roll that caused Cait's cheeks to flush.

“Just to be safe, okay?”

Lisa glanced at Barry with a smirk and raised her hands, exposing her wrists to Cisco and Caitlin: “Do you guys want to cuff me to a table to make sure I don't cause any trouble?”

Cisco arched his brows, turned to Barry with a hopeful look: “Can we?”

“Cisco!” Barry and Caitlin exclaimed.

Cisco cowered. “What?”

“She's _pregnant!”_ Barry and Caitlin said in unison.

“She suggested that!”

“We're not cuffing anyone to anything!” Caitlin stated, and Barry was very grateful for her sensiblity. “Barry trusts her and we trust Barry.”

“Right.”

“So, Lisa,“ Caitlin guided Lisa to the nearest chair and basically shoved down onto it as gently as possible. “Tell us anything that could help us find your brother. Barry believes he was taken for his... uh... _expertise.”_

“That's such a nice way to put it,” said Lisa with a delighted giggle.

Barry felt that nice warmth in his chest again. He stared at the girls as they talked and didn't really hear a single sound they uttered. Lisa looked at ease, here, and, with a little luck, Caitlin and Cisco would soon see in her what Barry could already see: a brave young woman who was truly trying to do better.

“So,“ Barry sighed. It was time for him to go. “Is everything okay in here?”

“A little awkward, but we'll get along just fine,” said Lisa, leaning down into her chair to pull up her legs over the desktop in front of her. “What?“ she protested at Caitlin's disapproving glare. “I have to keep my feet up, my ankles are starting to swell!”

Barry left the building snickering to himself.

The end of his shift would never come soon enough.

 

*

 

Finding Snart was harder than Barry had initially anticipated.

Days passed, turned into weeks, but the robberies had stopped and his plan to monitor the security systems of the richest mansions in the city had to be put on hold. According to Lisa, it was a tactic: they were going to strike again when people would least expect it.

So, until the next, unpredictable robbery, Lisa was stuck with Barry.

Not that he minded.

He tried to reduce the time she spent outside to a bare minimum, fearing someone might be after her; it left a lot of time spent indoors to kill, especially for her.

Barry might have been super fast, but Lisa was super smart and it was really hard to keep up with her most of the time: she filled out Barry's whole stash of crosswords and sudokus in a matter of minutes and rolled her eyes when he frustratingly pointed out that they should have lasted at least a coupled of days.

So they switched to cards, and Lisa turned out to be a formidable card player.

She crushed Barry at every game he knew, then taught him some new ones and crushed him at those, too. When she suggested to try Strip Poker, he nearly choked on his own saliva, but then she started giggling at his reaction and his heart quivered a little. On a second thought, he was all willing to embarrass himself over and over again if that was what it took to see that expression on Lisa's face. He told himself it was no big deal that she made him feel like this: he just liked making people happy, and right now Lisa really needed at least a shard of happiness.

He read to her at night, sitting beside her on the couch. Leonard had been reading for her ever since they were little and listening to his voice helped her sleep without nightmares. Barry's voice seemed to do the trick, too.

Except one night, when he came back home late after a nasty business the Flash had been required for downtown, and he found her asleep in her bed, hugging her pillow, the lamplight on on the bedside table.

Barry walked up to her and sat down on the bed. He watched her for a while, her face clean and innocent, so much different from the Lisa she presented to the world, and Barry felt like a fist was closing around his throat.

She looked... lovely.

In a strangely painful way.

He realised his hand was moving only when he felt her soft curls between his fingers.

He brushed her hair back, smiling at the little, content moan she exhaled in her sleep. A picture flickered in his thoughts – himself leaning down, pressing a feather kiss to her forehead – and Barry instantly realised that things were taking an unexpected turn, and all too quickly.

He sped out of the room, leant back against the wall with a hand over his mouth, pulse skyrocketing. A shard of guilt pierced his conscience.

This wasn't meant to happen.

He shouldn't be feeling what he was feeling, whatever it was he was feeling.

He closed his eyes and leant his head back against the wall, breathing hard.

His heart sank when he heard Lisa call in her sleep. She was muttering unintelligible things, but fear laced her voice, and Barry, despite his own dismay, just couldn't leave her alone like that.

It took him about one tenth of a second to be by her side again. Her face was wet with tears. She was calling, begging someone...

“Please... please, no...”

“Lisa.” Barry touched her shoulder. “Lisa, I'm-”

Lisa bolted awake. Out of thin air, Barry found himself with a blade pointed at his throat and Lisa panting in his arms. Her eyes widened when she realised it was him.

“Barry!” She was shaking. More tears rolled down her face. “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!”

Barry was heart-broken. He couldn't bear to see her like this – strong, sassy Lisa, feeling so brittle in his arms. He didn't know what to do: the terror in her eyes was ferocious, scary even for Barry who could only see a pale reflection of it. He felt powerless, there was nothing he could do except be here for her.

Leonard would know what do to, what to say. Leonard would know how to hold her to make her feel safe and protected.

“Hey, it's okay,” he soothed, reaching out tentatively to make her lower her hand. He needed to get through to her before she had a panic attack. “Look at me,” he gently insisted. “Lisa. Look at me. It's okay.” His fingers closed around her wrist. He felt her tension subside a little. “It's okay.”

Lisa's hand tremblingly gave in to Barry's silent request. She let him guide her arm down. Her gaze was fixed on a spot on Barry's neck where he felt his skin burn. “I could have-”

“No,” Barry said at once. “No, you couldn't. You were fast, but not as fast as me.” He smiled reassuringly. “How about we drop this knife now? You don't need it, here. You're safe. Okay?”

Lisa watched, frozen, as Barry delicately pried the knife from her clenched fingers and dropped it the floor.

“Are you okay?” he asked then, concern chocking his voice. For some reason, the question seemed to take her aback.

“I nearly killed you and you ask if _I_ am okay?”

Barry shrugged. “I'm used to people trying to kill me.”

Lisa flashed him a thankful but tired smile. Her hands slid over her belly, now too pronounced to be ignored. She was still shaking.

“Hey.” Barry placed his hands over hers and squeezed gently. “Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?”

Lisa scrutinised him, beautiful and needy and broken, and Barry's breath cut in his lungs. Now he was shivering, too.

Then, after what felt like forever, Lisa slowly tugged him down to the bed with herself.

“Stay until I wake up.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it was supposed to be a 2-part story, but the second chapter was turning out to be too long and I decided to split it.
> 
> I want to thank everyone who decided to give this story a chance, especially the beautiful souls who even dedicated a minute of their time to leaving a review. You guys are amazing, I cannot possibly thank you enough!


	3. So Beautiful It Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry finally confronts his feelings.  
> Just as expected, it hurts like hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Ocean Soul by Nightwish.

Barry choked on his coffee when Lisa strode into the living room with her jeans hanging open around her hips. She was pulling at the hems, trying harder and harder to get the zip up, to no avail. There were a few inches of naked skin between the patch of panties and her top, the smooth curve of her belly popping out stubbornly between the two sides of the zip.

Groaning in frustration, she looked up at Barry: “My pants don't fit anymore,” she whined.

Eyes still transfixed on her bump, Barry blinked: “Huh?”

“I'm too big!” Lisa tugged at her jeans to prove her point. “I can't button my damn pants!”

Barry cleared his throat and quickly wiped the dreamy smile off his face.

“You're starting to look kinda round,” he noted, though it was honestly just pointing out the obvious, because... well, Lisa _was_ round. He had no idea how she even hoped she would fit into those impossibly skinny jeans: she was almost four and half months along, it was ridiculous. And Barry _knew_ he shouldn't be laughing, but...

His nerve earned him a pillow on the face and a rabid: “You're not helping!”

Still laughing, Barry held up his hands in surrender. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry!” He put down his coffee and got up to swat her hands off the innocent zip. “Stop doing that, it's not going to close.”

Lisa glared but still indulged him. Barry didn't know how he hadn't developed an immunity to her faces, yet; she could make him melt with a _glare:_ if that wasn't a superpower, then he didn't know what to call it.

It was strange how Lisa had quietly settled into his life so seamlessly. Looking around the house now, Barry could barely remember what it had been like before her – before her scent in the laundry basket and her favourite mug beside his on the table, before her cinnamon pancakes and the soft songs she hummed under her breath in the morning.

He tried to imagine things without her and his heart sank as he realised that, without Lisa, everything was going to appear dim and colourless. Empty.

The charming nickname Cisco had given her – _Golden Glider_ – now seemed more fitting than ever.

Barry chased such thoughts away and tried his best to put on a carefree expression:

“I'm sure there's some sweatpants I can lend you,” he offered. “And maybe we should get you some maternity clothes.”

Lisa looked down at herself, hands splayed over her bare stomach, and sighed, shoulders sagging: “Do I look fat?”

“You look gorgeous,” Barry replied before he even registered the question. “I- I mean-”

Beaming, Lisa pinched his chin between her fingers and grinned – one of those slightly creepy grins of hers that Barry was so weak for; her eyes lingered over his mouth before she lifted them to Barry's: “You're so cute when you get all flustered.”

“Not funny.”

“Yes funny.”

Barry watched her leave with a burden crushing his soul. Watched her hips swing enticingly as she walked. Watched her bare feet touch the cold floor. Watched her hair falling loosely over her shoulder. He watched her and wondered.

Wondered if she could perceive this bond forming between the two of them.

Wondered if, in another lifetime, things could have gone differently.

Wondered how badly it was going to hurt to watch her go, when the time came.

 

*

 

Maternity shopping was so much more entertaining than normal shopping.

For starters, the clothes in the shop looked like ordinary large clothes, except there were secret tricks concealed in the most unexpected places. His favourite, at the moment, were elastic bands hidden behind pants pockets.

Lisa had been trying on several models and only a few had satisfied her. Barry was posing as a human dumpster for all the ones she was discarding.

“I'm keeping these on,” Lisa announced when she finally emerged from the changing room for the last time. The black jeans she was wearing looked pretty much like the ones she had been struggling with a couple of hours ago, only they fit her perfectly, following the curves of her body like they had been designed for her.

An hour later, the cashier gaped at them when Lisa dropped a pile of clothes on the counter: pants, shirts, blouses, sweaters... all black. Quite gloomy, for an expecting mother, but that was Lisa and Barry wouldn't have wanted her any other way.

“Oh my, look at the two of you!” cooed the cashier while ringing the items. “With such attractive parents, the little one in there is going to look so beautiful!”

“Uh.” Barry fumbled. This misunderstanding was starting to get a little too recurrent. On the other hand, it kind of flattered him that people would think he would score a woman like Lisa. “No, it's not- I'm not-”

“Here you go,” the cashier said without even listening to him. She handed him two large bags while Lisa took her change. “And here's a discount for the restaurant upstairs,” the woman added, slipping a colourful coupon across the counter with a wink. “Your baby mama deserves a good, healthy lunch after all this shopping, don't you, my dear?”

Lisa put on an angelic face as she turned to Barry: “I _am_ starving.”

“Oh.” Why didn't she say something? He could have got her anything in less than a blink. _Literally._ “Okay, then: let's go grab some lunch.”

“Does it embarrass you that people mistake us for a couple?” asked Lisa on their way to the car.

“Uh? Oh. No, of course not!” Barry put their purchases in the trunk and locked the car. Lisa leant back against it with her arms crossed and a chuckle on her mouth: “Is it because I'm a few years older than you?”

“I'm not embarrassed!” he objected, but he guessed that blushing wasn't a good way to prove that. It was true, though: he wasn't embarrased, he was pathetically _pleased._ “It's just... It's kinda nice, you know? All of this: buying stuff with you, sharing lunch...” He checked her tentatively. Was he even making any sense to her? “I really like your company, Lisa. I like... looking afer of you.”

It wasn't _exactly_ what he had meant to say. What he had actually meant to say was... something else. Something huge and stupid and immensely compromising that would have ruined the day and possibly the entirety of his relationship with Lisa.

Crazy, wasn't it? He had a relationship with Lisa Snart. As to the nature of this relationship, he'd rather not think about.

“Isn't that the sweetest thing anyone's ever told me?” she said, sounding not half as serious as Barry had been. “I like your company too, Bar- _oh!”_

Barry's heart skipped a beat. “What? What is it? Is something wrong?”

But, according to the big, marvelled smile spreading on Lisa's face, there was nothing wrong at all. All the contrary, in fact.

Lisa brought both her hands to her belly, moving them frantically as if looking for something.

“I think I just felt the baby move,” she said breathlessly.

Barry paralised. Though unable to move, he felt like he was going to freak out. As of now, he could hardly remember his own name. He gaped at Lisa's hands and what was beneath them, half expecting to be able to _see_ something.

They grinned at each other in awe. Lisa looked... over the moon. The sun itself couldn't have compared to her, right now.

The baby was moving.

The baby was _moving._

“Oh my god! Oh my god!”

In the heat of the moment, Lisa seized Barry's wrist and pulled him closer. “Here, gimme your-”

Barry knew what she wanted to do and couldn't wait to _feel_ that. His elation, however, lasted less than one second, because guilt instantly replaced all his excitement. He drew his hand back, leaving Lisa bewildered and slightly hurt.

“I- I can't do that,” he stuttered. This was wrong. This was very wrong. “Leonard should be the first to feel it.”

His guilt spiked.

_Leonard._

Barry didn't even know where he was, if he was alright... how could he even be here, taking his sister out and enjoying every little joy her pregnancy was giving them?

Lisa had lost all cheerfulness; she was tearing up, arms wrapped around herself like she was suddenly feeling cold.

“Yeah,” she agreed feebly. “He should be.”

Barry wanted to smack himself. He was an insensitive jerk: he had just ruined one of the most beautiful and important moments of her life.

“Lise, I'm sorry.”

Lisa looked up. There was a small, touched smile curling her lips.

“You've never called me that before.”

Soft and wistful... not the tone Barry was expecting.

“That... just came out.”

“Yeah?”

Barry held Lisa's inquisitive stare. He felt like she was trying to read _into_ him.

“So,” he began, holding out his arm for her. “Are we going to lunch?”

Lisa grabbed it with a smile: “Lead the way, Mr Allen.”

The shopping centre was famous for its vertiginous glass elevator and the restaurant on its top, which had an incredible panoramic view of the city.

Barry walked with Lisa into the elevator and held the door for the woman in black who was heading their way, but she suddenly changed her mind, which pleased him more then he cared to admit. It was just he and Lisa in the stunning elevator rising fast towards the top floor.

Lisa grabbed his hand after the fist couple of floors and clenched it so tight it made Barry wince. She was taking deep, slow breaths, holding the back of her hand in front of her mouth.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

A little green in the face, she pouted resentfully at the amusement in his tone: “A little?”

Laughing, fingers still intertwined with hers, Barry looped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. Her body molded easily into his own, deliciously soft against his taut muscles. An odd feeling tickled throughout Barry's limbs, something between drunkenness and euphoria, and made his knees slightly weak. The little sigh Lisa let out leaning into him ignited a spark of heat in his veins.

“Better?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

He looked at their reflection in the glass. Lisa settled against his chest with a smug grin.

“My hero,” she teased, and her voice... oh, her voice – low and husky like Barry's had been – was sweeter than sin itself.

A veil of inexplicable melachnoly had already started creeping upon Barry when something clicked in his head.

“Lisa?”

“Mmh?”

“Did you by chance _forget_ to pay for the jeans you're wearing?”

The sheepish simper that spread across Lisa's face reflected in the glass was so false and so damn cute Barry just couldn't bring himself to be mad at her. The fond, helpless shake of his head only made her smile brighter, which made Barry's face even fonder.

And that was when he knew he was screwed.

Oh, _so screwed._

 

*

 

“There's someone on your mind, I can tell.”

Caitlin sat down in front of Barry and placed two cups on the table, watching Barry with that _Caitlin_ look of hers that never failed to make him feel guilty even when he had nothing to feel guilty about. This was not ther case, of course, but _still._

He took his coffee and stared down at it, feeling both sad and content. It was no wonder his feelings were starting to shine through. It was getting harder and harder every day to pretend nothing was happening, that he didn't feel the way he did. What was the point in denying, by now? Lying wouldn't change anything.

“Busted.”

Caitlin wrapped her hands around her coffee and waited for Barry to elaborate. And waited. And _waited._

“I've always been under the impression you had a thing for Snart?” she began casually and frowned when Barry laughed.

He had a thing for Snart?

Yeah, sure.

Take your pick.

He most certainly had a thing for _Snarts._

How awesome to be discussing it at _Jitters._

“That's... technically accurate.”

“I mean Leonard, not Lisa!“ Caitlin clarified with a giggle. “That would be awkward, right? Can you imagine the complications if you fell in love with Cold's little sister?”

Barry's ears went hot. “Yeah,” he said nervously. “That would be... really unfortunate.”

Silence fell between them. He could sense Caitlin's brain working until he heard a faint: “Oh.”

The amusement of Caitlin's face morphed into perplexity, then into sheer shock. “ _Oh.”_ She bit her lip and gently shook her head in sorrowful sympathy. _“Oh, Barry.”_

There. The cat was out of the bag.

Barry felt... lighter, in some way. He had forbidden himself to think about it that way, so far, and it hadn't worked out as well as he liked to think, obviously, otherwise it wouldn't have been so simple for Cait to figure out.

“It's okay,” he reassured her. “I'll... get over it. Somehow.”

Caitlin leant back in her chair, eyes comically wide.

“You, the Fl- _of all people_ are in love with a _criminal!”_

Barry snorted out an awkward half laugh.

_Two, actually._

Yeah, life was that ironic, sometimes.

“She's really... She's...”

Trying to put down in words why and how he had developed these feelings for Lisa was much more difficult than expected. It was clear is his mind – all the little things, all the reasons – but saying that out loud? How could he translate that into words? Words... words couldn't possibly be _enough..._

Lisa was...

_Lisa..._

Barry laughed at his own dismay.

_Lisa._

Lisa was clever.

Lisa was funny.

Lisa was tough.

Lisa was sharp and sweet and brave and beautiful...

“There's something about her,” he said, and the voice catching in his throat was hilarious, because – what was he? A schoolboy at his first crush? “I- I don't know how to explain,” he mumbled. He was positive Caitlin thought he was high or something. “She looks so storng and badass, but she's so... so human, so fragile...” He was grinning like an idiot again. “She uses her beauty to distract people from what's beneath, but the person under the mask is... She's pretty amazing.”

Well, _that_ was a remarkable ramble, even for him.

He took a peek at Caitlin and found her in a curious state of confusion. She looked amused, astonished and moved in varying degrees of proportion. Quite hilarious to behold, Barry had to admit, even despite the situation.

“Wow,” she finally exhaled after a long pause. “You've got it bad, huh?”

Barry dropped his head, nodding powerlessly. “Yeah. Pretty bad.”

He didn't know why it felt so good to say that out loud. Perhaps just sharing the burden was easing some weight off his shoulders. Or perhaps... perhaps it was just good to say that, period.

_I'm in love with Lisa Snart._

Yeah, he was definitely screwed.

He couldn't help thinking about Leonard. Leonard Snart, who had put Barry through any sort of hell and then, with a sly smirk and a witty quip, had always found his way to Barry's begrudging forgiveness. The same man who at the moment was a giant wall between Barry and the woman he loved... and Barry didn't care.

It was just a sick twist of fate that he had developed a crush on two people who were basically the textbook definition of _soulmates._

“I'll admit,” said Caitlin, smiling kindly. “That now that we got to know her a little better, she isn't half as bad as I thought.”

She gave Barry a warning glare when he started smiling back triumphantly, then asked softly: “What are you going to do?”

“What I've been doing so far,” he said without a hint of hesitation. “Keep her safe, take care of her as best as I can. Until we get Snart back.”

“And then?”

“Then,” Barry scratched the side of his cup with his thumbnail. He pursed his lips pensievely, then sighed: “Then I'll try to forget.”

_Of both of them._

 

*

 

The sound of the dishes clinking filled the kitchen as Barry washed and Lisa dried them.

She was paaticularly happy, today, because another mansion had been robbed and water had been found around the safe, which meant that Leonard was still working with his mysterious captor. Cisco had informed them he was working on something that would allow them to track Snart, but he would say what it was about until he was sure it would work.

It wasn't much, but enough to cheer up Lisa, and Barry with her.

It was a rainy Sunday morning and they grey sky outside couldn't dim the light irradiating from Lisa. She had stolen an old blue tee from Barry's laundry and had claimed it as her new pyjamas, and Barry had had absolutely nothing to complain about that: blue was most definitely her colour.

Despite the t-shirt being too large for her, it wasn't large enough to conceal her growing belly. Barry was burning with curiosity about the little person who was growing in there: who would they look more like? Would their eyes be ice blue like Leonard's or sea blue like Lisa's? Boy or girl?

He darted a sideways glance at Lisa: she was sorting spoons, forks and knives into the drawer, humming one of her songs with a light curl at the corner of her mouth.

She seemed to sense his attention and turned to him with an arched brow: “What?”

“Nothing.” Barry shyly returned to his washing. “It's just... You look radiant, today. More than usual.”

Lisa winked at him. “Such a charmer, Barry. Stop playing with a poor girl's heart.”

Barry was going to miss this – the daily banter, the teasing and flirting, opening the door for her when they came back home after a long day... He didn't know how he was going to cope with her absence. He couldn't imagine his life without her, now.

But this was his problem.

“What are you thinking?”

The clink stopped. Lisa's head snapped towards Barry, a thin crease lining her forehead. She studied him, eyes flickering all over his face.

“I was thinking that Lenny and I spent most of our lives tucked away from people because we could never bring ourselves to trust anyone. But you...” Her hand lay on top of his over the plate he was washing. She smiled, in a way Barry had never seen her smile before. Or he _had,_ but only when she talked about her brother. “It's really hard not to like you,” she said, rousing a twirl of butterflies in Barry's chest. “I can see why Lenny is so head over heels for you.”

The twirl of butterflies became a storm. Leonard _what?_

“Oh, come on, he's not- He _is?”_

Lisa playfully nudged him with her hip: “Why do you think he's been pulling your pigtails all this time?”

Pulling pigtails? What was that supposed to-

Oh.

_Oh._

“I thought- I thought he was just messing with me?”

Lisa chuckled: “He was _also_ messing with you.”

Yeah, that sounded like Snart.

It felt like Barry's body and mind didn't know how to react to the news – which was great news, _awesome_ news! He couldn't move and at the same time wanted to run around the world and back.

He swallowed, trying to stay grounded. Lisa was casting him surreptitious glances. There was something... something unspoken lingering between them.

Barry slid closer to her, looked down on her with a throb in his heart for which he had a name, now, and poked her side with his elbow.

“What about you?”

Lisa stilled. She turned slowly; they were so close that there was no telling her personal space from his own. He felt the warm touch of her pronounced belly against his abs. Lisa looked up at him, eyes dark and glossy:

“What about me?” she asked in a whisper.

Barry's mouth was dry. The heat emanating from Lisa's body was intense and intoxicating. It made him hot and dizzy and his hands sweaty.

They had been closer than this – on the couch binge watching random series, in bed when he held her through her nightmares, when she sat on his lap in front of his computer to help him fix errors he couldn't fix on his own – but this was different. This was completely different.

The unspoken _something_ between them wasn't so much dividing them as it was drawing them to one another. Closer and closer and closer. Until...

Something _moved_ against him. He jumped back in the same moment Lisa let out a surprised breath and bent forward, cupping her belly into her hand.

“Ow. That was intense,” she commented gleefully.

Barry could barely hear her.

The baby... the baby had kicked him.

Had it been in a hey-Barry-what's-up friendly way or in a stay-away-from-my-mommy-you-bitch way?

Likely neither, he thought in relief. Babies in the womb didn't kick for reasons: they just did.

_Right?_

“You know what?” Barry backed away, breath short and legs like jelly. “We should get going. We're gonna be late for your appointment.”

Lisa nodded, lips tight. There were so many things Barry wanted to say, but he had a feeling most of them would be the wrong thing. Lisa brushed her hair back and headed out of the room without looking at him.

 _Wait,_ Barry wanted to cry. _Help me understand what is going on!_

As if on a cue, Lisa stopped halfway through the kitchen and turned back: “Have you seen my medical folder?”

Barry deflated like a baloon. No, this was not the moment to talk about it. What was he thinking? It would _never_ be the moment to talk about it. He was just seeing things he wanted to see, that was all.

“Bottom left drawer in my desk,” he said with a lump in his throat.

“Thanks, babe.” Lisa blew him a kiss and disappeared in the other room.

Barry stared at the empty spot she had left with the ghost of a smile on his lips and lead in his heart.

He could still feel the print of the baby's movement against his skin.

_Yeah. I'll try to forget._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The length of this story is getting out of hand: it started out as a oneshot but it keeps growing as I go and I honestly, genuinely promise I'll do my best to make sure chapter 4 is the last (okay, maybe a very brief epilogue, just because I don't like even numbers?).
> 
> Can I just say how happy and moved I am by you guys' response to this story? I was blown away by your amazing words and support. Please, keep it up! Writing about rare pairs is hard because very few people give these stories a chance, but you are all awesome and are giving me so much!


	4. Sweet Child of Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone has caught feelings and Barry's heart starts cracking a little.

“Is he always so restless?"”

“Most of the time.”

“He's a handful, huh?”

Lisa let out a low giggle. “I like him as he is.”

“A very cute handful. He's definitely very different from Leonard.”

“They're the epitome of polar opposites.”

“Well, you know what they say about opposites.”

“Oh, I do. I think they know, too.”

Barry was hardly listening: he kept pacing around the studio, fidgeting, touching everything he came across, only stopping from time to time to check if Lisa was finally ready. Never in his life had he ever needed so desperately to _move,_ to do things. He was having serious trouble keeping his speed at bay. Overexcited didn't even begin to explain his emotional status as of now.

Lisa was being visited behind a curtain by Doctor Erika Jonsson; they were chatting amicably and Barry was glad Lisa had a good relationship with her gynaecologist, but if they didn't start this ultrasound soon he was going to combust.

He'd been counting the days to this appointment and his stomach was churning in anticipation.

He was going to see that baby.

_He was going to see the baby._

“Here we are.”

Barry was so nervous he jumped when Doctor Jonsson finally pulled the curtain back, revealing Lisa already lying on the examination table, shirt rolled up to expose her belly.

“You can sit down, Barry,” Doctor Jonsson instructed, pointing at the stool next to Lisa. “If you're physically capable of that, that is.”

Barry met her mischievous black eyes and decided he liked her.

“I'll behave,” he promised cheerfully as he sat down, obedient as a well trained puppy.

Lisa laughed: “Don't make promises you can't keep, Barry.”

They shared a knowing smirk and Barry's heart leaped. He was so gone for this girl that at this point he didn't even care about getting hurt anymore. He wanted to take what he got and cherish every bit of it, as long as it lasted.

“Nineteen weeks and three days, and everything looks great.”

Doctor Jonsson's voice jolted Barry back to reality. He choked when he realised what the confused, black and white image that had appeared on the screen was.

“That's-- that's-”

“Yes,” Doctor Jonsson confirmed. “Have you ever seen a sonogram before, Barry?”

Unable to breathe or move, Barry could only utter a faint: “No.”

He was so insanely touched and so proud of Lisa he nearly blurted out all his feelings just like that. He was mesmerised by the wobbly picture in front of him. It wasn't very clear, but it was _clearly_ a baby: he could see its arms, and hands, and legs, and feet... and the head, a tiny nose...

“Oh my god,” he gasped croakily. He squeezed Lisa's hand (when had he taken it, anyway?) and beamed at her, his sight slightly blurred, for some reason. “This is incredible.”

“Here, take one.”

“What?” Barry forced himself to tear his eyes from the monitor to look at what Doctor Jonsson was handing him. A tissue box.

He was about to wonder why he would need that when he felt two thick tears roll down his face, dying along his neck.

_Oh._

“Hey.” He felt Lisa's cool fingers on his cheek, a caress as gentle as her voice. “Didn't know you were such a softie.”

“Are you kidding me?” Barry half laughed, half cried, pointing at the screen. “Lise, that's- _that's your baby!_ How can you _not_ be crying?”

“I did last time I was here,” she said quietly. “Even Lenny-” She swallowed and turned her head to the screen with a small smile. “Even Lenny was moved.”

Oh, Barry would have given anything to have been there, to see Snart tearing up the first time he saw his baby. It warmed Barry's heart to imagine his face, what it must have been like for him to sit where Barry was sitting now, squeezing Lisa's hand in awe, overwhelmed by pride and affection for this tiny creature he hadn't even met yet.

It must have been a deeply emotional moment, judging by the nostalgic shadow that was clouding Lisa's face.

“The baby's development is healthy and regular,” Doctor Jonsson announced after taking a few measurements, and Barry silently thanked her for her timing. It took a couple of seconds, but the mist in Lisa's eyes dissipated and she gradually returned to her usual self.

“As to you,” Doctor Jonsson continued, giving Lisa a big smile. “You're in exceptionally good shape: optimal blood pressure, no anaemia, weight is under control...”

“Is it?” Lisa's brows furrowed. “I've already put on fifteen pounds!”

“Which is a perfectly healthy gain, at this stage. Your baby is growing fast, and your body is padding up and storing nutrients to prepare for its arrival, so we should be worried if you _weren't_ gaining any weight.”

Lisa craned her neck to smile tenderly at the curve of her belly: “Did you hear that, kiddo? Mommy's padding up for you.”

“And doing an amazing job,” said Barry, earning playful glare:

“Are you insinuating I'm chubby?”

“I'm insinuating you're _soft.”_

“Kettle, meet pot,” Doctor Jonsson giggled, handing Lisa a towel so that she could clean herself up from the gel they had used for the ultrasound. Much to Barry'd delight, Lisa giggled with her.

“I wish all my patients were as lucky as you are.” Doctor Jonsson cast a quick glance at Barry, then stood to turn the screen off. “Do you want to know the gender?”

“No!” said Lisa at once. Resting back on her elbows, she turned to Barry, as if asking him a silent question. He nodded. “Not yet.”

Doctor Jonsson took off her gloves. “Alright, then. Let me print you some pictures. Would you like a DVD of the sonogram, too?”

“Yes!” Barry exclaimed, forgetting for one moment that he wasn't in any way involved in the matter. “Oh, uhm... sorry. I got a little carried away.”

Lisa sat up, pulling her shirt down. “Don't apologise. I love your enthusiasm.”

“Yeah?”

“I'm glad to have someone to be excited with.” Lisa took his hand between hers. “I'm sure Lenny will be happy to know you were here with me all along.”

“Yeah, right,” scoffed Barry, but then realised that Lisa was serious. “Oh, you mean it.”

“He trusts you, Barry. We both do.”

“We'll see how true that is when he finds out I sleep with you on a daily basis.”

He remembered too late they weren't alone: at her desk, Doctor Jonsson was snickering discreetly while typing something on her computer. He was horrified when he realised what his words must have sounded like.

“Uh, that's- that's not -”

“None of my business,” Doctor Jonsson completed for him. “Here's your pictures and DVD. My secretary will schedule our next appointment, okay?”

“Thanks, Doc.”

Barry took the folder and helped Lisa gather her stuff.

He still felt high as a kite for everything he just got to witness. On the way out, he couldn't stop rambling about how crazy it was that they were able to see what they had seen. He was so hyped he was nearly run over by an old convertible. He held Lisa back (how long had they been holding hands, by the way?) and insulted the blonde behind the wheel with words that made Lisa giggle adorably.

Damn, he was going to miss this sound.

“Thank you for accompanying me,” Lisa muttered as they walked. She was staring at the ground with a mild smile. “It would have been sad to go on my own.”

“Are you kidding me?” Barry couldn't believe his ears. “Thank _you_ for having me!” He took her hands and squeezed them in his own. “I still can't believe that all those incredible things are happening inside of you! There is a person growing in you! _A person!”_ He was totally, completely in awe. “That's- that's so amazing! Doesn't it make you feel, like, insanely powerful?”

Lisa giggled with a disbelieving frown: “It kinda does if you put it that way.”

“You two hungry?” he inquired with a gentle pat on her stomach.

Lisa scoffed and rolled her eyes. “We're always hungry!”

“Pizza?” Barry proposed as they crossed the street. “You can have my crust.”

“I'm such a spoiled girl!”

“Yes, you are,” Barry said, even if what he thought was: _I like spoiling you._

“I'm growing a human life,” Lisa pouted. “I deserve to be!”

“You absolutely do.”

They looked at each other and he suddenly had a very clear picture of how they must look to the world. He shouldn't be surprised so many people mistook them for a couple: they acted like one most of the time.

A part of him was aware this was unfair to Leonard, but another part of him – a much bigger one – kept thinking that Lisa would never do anything that could potentially offend or hurt her brother. She certainly knew him better than Barry did.

“You're going to be a fantastic mother, Lise,” he said out of nowhere, just because he couldn't stop thinking about it and he reckoned Lisa should know. She should know that he believed in her.

Lisa slid her free hand around his arm. “You think so?”

Barry savoured her closeness, filed this simple moment of intimacy away in a golden box where he had stored all his dearest memories of his time with her, saving bits of bliss and happiness for when his heart would starve from her absence.

“I know that.”

 

*

 

_Barry screamed._

_He was standing in an deserted room, naked and cold, feeling desperately empty._

_When he looked down, he found there was a gaping hole in his chest, right there where his heart should have been. It was bleeding. It would never stop bleeding. Somehow, he knew he was going to bleed forever._

_He turned around frantically, looking, searching for something... something..._

_Something he was missing and couldn't find._

_He tried to scream again, but no sound came out of his burning lungs._

_He tried to move, to seek for a way out, but he couldn't walk. His legs felt heavy, causing him to limp, to drag himself blindly through a darkness that felt too thick to be crossed._

_He felt... so... unbearably incomplete..._

Barry gasped for air as he sat up, heart drumming uncontrollably against his ribs. He was shivering. He felt like he had ice in his veins.

He placed a hand on the mattress and froze when he found it empty and cold.

His instinct was faster than his reason: he bolted out of the room, checking the other bedroom, the bathroom, the livingroom... and there he skidded to a halt.

He exhaled a breath of relief.

In the middle of the room, bathed by the pale moonlight, sat Lisa, legs crossed on the floor and a hand clasped over her mouth. She was crying.

"Hey." Barry darted to her. He knelt beside her, brushed back the curtain of messy hair hiding her face. Her reddened eyes made her irises even more strikingly blue.

Lisa sniffled, cheeks streaked with tears. “Sorry I woke you.”

Barry kept stroking her hair. “Don't even say that!" he scolded. “Are you okay?”

“Wonderful,” she sobbed with a sarcastic grimace. She let Barry soothe her for a little while, then sniffled again: “It's just... I miss Lenny so much.”

Barry's heart sank.

_Oh, Lise._

He slid his fingers along her scalp, allowing his thumb to linger over her cheekbone to rub small, comforting circles. The gesture smeared her tears across her cheek, but new ones kept falling, again and again.

Barry pulled her into a hug.

_I miss him, too._

He didn't know why it didn't surprise him to catch himself thinking something so inappropriate, in a moment like this. Probably, he mused, because he knew it was true. He'd known for a while, now, if he had to be honest with himself.

“I hate feeling like this," Lisa grumbled meekly into the crook of his neck. "I hate feeling weak.”

Barry pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Maybe you just need to let it all flow. It's okay to be vulnerable, sometimes, you know?”

“Still hate it," huffed Lisa, making Barry smile affectionately.

“I know you do. Is there anything I can do?”

“I'm okay," said Lisa with a stubborn pout that didn't entirely wipe the melancholy in her eyes. "I don't know why I can't stop crying." She sounded almost angry at herself. "I have no control over my body, over my emotions... This side of pregnancy really sucks.”

Barry laughed, a laugh that came straight from the bottom of his soul. Lisa was like that: a fully grown woman who sometimes would show glimpses of the little girl living within her.

Barry was dying to tell her how much he loved that, but how could he? He had no right to make this moment about him.

“Come here, my little bundle of hormones.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

He pulled Lisa into another hug despite her piercing him with a glower than soon turned into a reluctant giggle.

Barry let her settle against his chest. “Maybe. But I made you laugh."

“You have a strange rank of priorities,” she commented amusedly.

Barry's fingertips dipped in her shoulder.

He firmly believed his priorities to be perfectly and sensibly sorted: keeping Lisa smiling had been on at the top of them for a while, now, and he had no regrets whatsoever. Seeing Lisa happy made him happy. Making Lisa happy made him even happier. Simple as that.

“No,” he mused. “It's not strange at all.”

 

*

 

“Ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes, and the cutest little nose! Hey, that rhymed! Wait, it's turned the wrong way. Here.”

Caitlin took the picture Barry was holding out to her with slightly puzzled face, but it didn't stop Barry from carrying on with his rambling:

“Can you see here? It's sucking its thumb! Isn't that the coolest thing you've ever seen? Lisa and I stared at this for a solid ten minutes.”

Caitlin tilted her head with a scrunched face.

“What happened to this one?” she asked, picking up a picture that was ruined in a corner.

“Ah, that.” Barry blushed. “I might have been a little moved, shed a couple of tears.”

He took the picture from Caitlin's hand and swiped a thumb over it, observing it with loving eyes. He didn't know how he could be so proud of something he had had no part whatsoever in creating. Perhaps it was second hand pride that he was feeling just because he was proud of Lisa and Leonard – proud of them being proud of what they had, if that made any sense. To Barry, it did.

He was still staring longingly at the small still when he felt Caitlin's hand upon his arm.

“Barry,” she said cautiously, and waited for him to look at her to continue: “Why do I feel like I need to remind you that this is not your baby?”

All the joy that had been brightening Barry's face drained away.

“I know,” he said quietly. He rubbed his thumb over the spot where his tears had spoiled the film and sighed. “I know.”

This was a risky conversation to have with Lisa sleeping just two doors down the corridor.

Caitlin leant over him, forehead creased in concern. “I do not like this, Barr. I tried to turn a blind eye to your crush on Cold, but you and Lisa? This Snart thing getting out of hand.”

Euphemism.

The worst part of it was that Barry _knew_ what he had been getting himself into and he had willingly let it happen. He had no regrets: if he could rewind time and start over again, he wouldn't change a single thing about these weeks with Lisa.

“I knew I was starting to feel something for her and did nothing,” he blurted. “I let it happen, even if I knew it couldn't have a happy ending. This is all on me, okay?” he told Caitlin, hoping she would understand. “It's not their fault I'm an idiot.”

“I'm just worried about you,” she stressed. She kept chewing at her lip, meaning she was seriously worried. “Your pure little heart is going to end up in pieces when we get Snart back. _Twice.”_

Barry nearly burst out laughing.

_Yeah, no kidding._

“I can't help how I feel, Cait. But I'll figure it out.”

Caitlin gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. “And here I thought you'd hit rock bottom crushing on _one_ Snart.”

This time, Barry did laugh. “What can I say, must be the genetic jackpot. You know, the trademark snarkiness, the piercing blue eyes...”

Caitlin rolled her eyes. “The utterly gorgeous _everything...”_

“As I said, genetic jackpot. What's a guy to do?” Barry's look returned to the picture in his hand. “This kid is going to have the most incredible combo of brains and looks.”

If he or she was going to be anything like his or her parents, there were very high chances that this baby was going to grow up into the most gorgeous, smartest person Barry had ever met – and he'd met a pretty impressive amount of clever nerds.

“You know, Cisco and I were wondering...” Caitlin began tentatively. “Do you think they'll let us see the baby when it's born? I mean, not _every day._ Just... sometimes?”

“Well well well,” Barry chuckled. “Looks like I'm not the only one who caught feelings.”

Caitlin put on an outraged face: “We're not heartless monsters! We've been spending our days with Lisa for weeks, it's only natural we've come to care about her and the little one!”

A bout of fondness sparkled in the very core of Barry's soul. The entire situation was crazy and complicated, but neither Caitlin nor Cisco had judged Lisa or Leonard for their love, or Barry for his love for them. Barry was lucky to have them as friends.

“For what it's worth,” he said. “I think Lisa really likes you guys, too. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few months baby Snart will be calling you Auntie Cait and Uncle Cisco.”

“Auntie Cait...” Caitlin repeated with a satisfied, contemplative face. “That sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?”

Seeing Catilin so involved was comforting. It made Barry feel a little less alone in this emotional mess he had got himself into.

“Yeah,” he agreed. He hoped Caitlin wouldn't notice the bittersweet edge to his tone. “Yeah, it does.”

Barry was left wondering what _he_ would be to the child. Uncle Barry, most likely. He tried to smile through the crushing jab of pain he felt in his heart, but the sting he felt in his eyes proved how little it was working.

 _Uncle Barry_ was... okay. Better than nothing, surely. But it drew a line, a very neat line, right where Barry knew he should have stopped a long while ago; he had crossed that line, he had indulged a dangerous feeling without bothering to consider the ultimate consequences, and now here he was, moping over a bond that was doomed before it was even formed.

His hands started vibrating. Startled, he clenched them into fists. He tried to relax, struggling to regain his control. Caitlin mustn't see him like this: she would worry, she would know how badly he was coping with the situation.

Luckily for him, Cisco chose just the right moment to burst into the room:

“Guys! You're not gonna believe this!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can expect one more chapter and maybe a little epilogue. I hope this is not disappointing you guys, because I'm growing so attached to this story and these adorable folks that it's going to be hard for me to let go.
> 
> If you liked this, I will immensely appreciate every single word you'll want to drop. Comments are food for the writer's soul and help me stay motovated. Thank you in advance, everyone!


	5. Hey, Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which souls are reunited and souls are torn apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little warning: this chapter contains blood and suicide. Proceed with care if these are sensitive subjects to you.

Cisco had found a way to track the thermal reading of the Cold Gun.

He announced that with the smuggest grin across his face, but when he went to Barry for a high-five he didn't get the expected reaction. In fact, he didn't get any reaction at all.

Barry stood frozen in the middle of the lab with a knot in his throat and one in his heart. His muscles felt weird, tense and limp at the same time, and his head was so light and clouded he couldn't even hear what Cisco was telling him.

“Yo, bud, you okay?”

Barry swallowed, or tried to. He felt a wave of nausea at the pit of his stomach.

They were going to find Leonard.

They were going to find him and he could finally tell Lisa that her Lenny was coming back home to her.

He should go to her and tell her right now.

He should...

He...

“Barry? Barry are you alright?”

Caitlin's alarmed voice was so distant and faint that Barry was barely aware she was talking to him. There was a shrill ring in his ears echoing throughout his body, making it hard for him to keep his balance.

“Barry? Barry!”

He staggered and had to hold onto the wall to steady himself. He squeezed his eyes, feeling Caitlin's hands on his shoulders, her breath on his face.

“I'm- I'm okay,” he stuttered. He was slowly regaining his control, but the knots – the one in his throat and the one in his heart – were still there, still painfully tight.

“Do you want us to-”

“No.” He held up a hand to cut off Caitlin. “No, I'm- I gotta go to Lisa. I- I need to tell her...”

He strode away under Caitlin's and Cisco's concerned gazes, sensing the weight of their sympathy upon his shoulders.

The door to the room where Lisa was sleeping was open. Barry tiptoed inside and pulled the door closed behind himself.

Lisa was curled on the couch with her head propped over her bent arm. The blueish light of the room made her look paler than usual, but the air of peacefulness it gave her made her look like a carefree little girl.

Barry's stomach tightened.

She was beautiful. A beauty he had learned to see through her other beauty, the one she flaunted for everyone to see so that she could hide the best of her, a powerful shield keeping the real Lisa hidden and protected, out of reach to those foolish enough to stop at her blinding looks.

Barry sat down beside her. He felt like he was sitting a million miles away. He'd grown so used to her, to having her close, that he couldn't even imagine a life without her. He couldn't imagine opening his eyes in the morning without her singing coming from the kitchen, without her clothes mixed with his in the laundry, without her crazy cravings and the softness of her body huddled in his arms.

It was funny – in a rather cruel way – how you could lose somebody even if you never really had them.

He heard himself sniffle as his hand hesitantly reached out to brush through her hair, his thumb tracing over her temple. Lisa smiled in her sleep under his familiar touch; Barry choked down a broken sob. He didn't really know how he was going to survive this.

Lisa squirmed, her eyes slowly fluttering open.

“Barry?”

Despite the tears, he smiled at her sleepy face.

“Hey.” He kept drawing small circles on her forehead.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.” His voice cracked a little as he said: “I have news, Lise.”

Only now she seemed to take in his emotional state.

“What is it? Barry,” her fingers clawed his arm. “Is it Lenny?” she asked urgently, suddenly very awake. “Have you found my Lenny?”

Barry's heart broke. He felt it, loud and clear, a snap that cracked it in two and then shattered it to pieces. It hurt so much he felt like he couldn't breathe.

_Yes, Lise. We found your Lenny._

“Cisco found a way to track his gun.”

But Lisa didn't buy his charade. She was as good at reading him as he was at reading her. “Why do you look like somebody just died, then?”

”Oh, it's just-” He let out a shard of laughter with a shake of his head. “Don't mind me. I have the most stupid reactions to good news.”

She would probably have pressed further if she hadn't had more important matters to worry about. She took Barry hands, beaming at him so brightly the room seemed to light up.

“We're going to get him back,” she breathed radiantly, and Barry was so hopelessly happy for her – so happy to see her happy – that he could only beam back and squeeze her hands into his.

“We're going to get him back.”

 

*

 

Two days later, Cisco's plan worked: he got an alert of the Cold Gun being activated in a mansion uptown. It took Barry less than three seconds to suit up and get there.

He found Snart lazily snooping around the third floor parlour, his gun clutched to his chest.

“Snart.”

Leonard did flinch. He just frowned at him through a veil of doubt. “Barry.”

He didn't look hurt or harmed in any way. To be honest, he looked perfectly at ease. Barry's first instinct was to throw himself at him and hug him breathless. He had been worried about him for so long... But this wasn't the time and place for silly sentimentalisms, and Snart, being Snart, probably wouldn't appreciate any form of unprompted physical contact.

“Are you okay?” Barry inquired as he approached him. Snart observed him, evaluating the situation with surgical detachment.

“Peachy.”

There was nobody else in the room, but Barry could hear footsteps upstairs, in the attic. Something was off. Who would kidnap a criminal only to lose sight of him during a heist?

“What happened to you? Lisa is deadly worried.”

“It's my father,” Snart spat, contempt hardening his voice. “Took me, made me do stuff.”

Everything made sense, now: who would know how to manoeuvrer Leonard Snart better than his own father? The man who knew his every weakness and how to exploit it. How much did Lewis know, exactly? Was he even aware that by putting Lisa's life on the line he was also endangering his own grandchild?

But, then again, Barry thought, how would a father react to the fact that his son and daughter were expecting a child together? Not many parents would have been supportive of such a relationship. If Lewis knew, he probably thought Lisa would be better off dead, and her child with her.

Barry shuddered, feeling his skin creep with anger.

“I'm here to take you home to Lisa,” he said, but Leonard shook his head, looking sad.

“I can't go anywhere, kid. He's got someone after her.”

Barry cursed under his breath. “I feared so.”

Snart walked up to him, put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for what you've been doing for her.”

“You _know?”_

A sour smile stretched Leonard's lips. “Daddy dearest provided plenty of proof she was being followed at all times.” He studied Barry for a moment, then, as if reading his mind, he added: “She found you all on her own. I swear I never told her-”

“I know.” Barry smiled reassuringly. He wanted Leonard to know he still trusted him, now more than ever. “She's smart.”

“Yes, she is.” The fondness that lit up Leonard's face crushed Barry's heart. He had never seen so much love, and so pure, between two people.

The steps upstairs reminded him of the situation.

“We need to go, now,” he urged. “Come on.” He grabbed Leonard's elbow and made to speed away, but Leonard slipped away from his grip.

“If I run, Lisa's gonna be dead as soon as he notices I'm gone.”

“She's at STAR Labs. She's safe. I promise.”

“What about the jerk upstairs?”

Barry grabbed his hand again. “You're my priority now. We'll figure out the rest after I get you back to where you belong.”

“Not on my watch, boy.”

They both turned to the door. Lewis Snart stood on the threshold with a creepy sneer and a phone in his hand. The moonlight pouring in from the window beside him gave him a spectral look.

“Shoot him, son,” he ordered. “Shoot him, or-” His thumb moved eloquently over the screen. He didn't know that whoever was working with him couldn't get to Lisa, at the moment.

“Lisa is safe. Your man can't reach her where she is.” Barry announced.

“Sorry, Dad,” Leonard drawled smugly. “Game over.”

Lewis narrowed his eyes at him in accusation. “You're working with the Flash? I thought you hated him.”

“Not as much as I hate you.”

With a deadly calm smirk, Leonard pointed his gun at his father and loaded.

“Snart,” Barry said, voice quivering. _“Leonard.”_ This was bad. This was very bad.

“I have to do this, Scarlet," Snart said apologetically. "He wanted to hurt Lisa. He knew she's pregnant and he was ready to harm her just so he could control me. He walks out of this alive, some day he's gonna come back and make us both regret we didn't kill him when we could.”

“You'd love to get rid of your old man, wouldn't you?” Lewis snarled, utterly unaffected by the threat.

“It's been at the top of my bucket list all my life.”

Barry had no doubt Leonard would do that: it was the only way to ensure Lisa's safety, and the baby's. To his own shock, Barry realised he wasn't going to try to stop him.

The blue spark in Leonard's gun started pulsating as he touched the trigger. For the first time, Lewis looked worried.

“You're really gonna shoot me.”

“You bet.”

Lewis took a slow steps to his side, then another. “It would be such a pity," he hissed. "If you were robbed of this pleasure.”

And then, without a warning, Lewis jumped out of the window in a shower of shattering glass.

Not even Barry could stop him. Maybe, unconsciously, he didn't even try to.

Barry and Leonard rushed outside, but there wasn't much they could do: by Lewis's pose, not a single bone in his body had been spared by the fall. There was blood in his eyes and all around his head.

Leonard stared down at him with a sour grimace folding his mouth downwards.

“Son of a bitch.”

“He's still breathing,” Barry noted.

Leonard knelt by Lewis, watched him wheeze with eyes full of hatred and spite. “Not for long.”

Blood leaked out of a corner of Lewis's twisted mouth. He was staring at his son in sheer loathe.

“You and that whore are going to hell-”

Leonard clutched his right hand upon his mouth, then crushed until his knuckles whitened.

“No, we're not. You know why, you sick bastard?” He bent over Lewis to hiss onto his face: “Thanks to you, _we were born in it.”_

Lewis's eyes barely had the time to widen before they rolled back into his skull; his body went limp.

The stillness of everything around them was ghastly. Barry had a sheen of cold sweat all over the nape of his neck, under his suit. He would have never thought a parent could be capable of such cruelty towards his own children. What Lewis had done was making him sick: he was glad Leonard hadn't killed him, but he was also glad that this monster was dead; he didn't even dare to think about what Lewis could have done to Leonard, Lisa and their child only to get a revenge.

“He's gone.” Exhaling a small, relieved breath, Barry held out a trembling hand. “Let's go, Leonard,” he said softly. “The police will be here soon.”

“You're not gonna arrest me.”

“None of this was your fault. As far as I'm concerned, you're a victim and he got what he deserved.”

For a dreadful moment, Leonard didn't move. He just stared at the corpse of the man who had made his and his sister's life a living nightmare, and the sour grimace on his lips conveyed a complete lack of regret. When he finally looked up, he hesitated, as if to assess Barry's reaction; he was visibly relieved to find him with his hand stretched towards him and a reassuring half a smile.

Sighing heavily, Leonard grabbed Barry's hand and let him pull him onto his feet. Before walking away, he cast a final disgusted glance at the man lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

“So long, motherfucker.”

Barry patted his back, pulled him away.

“Come on,” he said gently. “Your sister's waiting.”

 

*

 

For some sick twist of fate, the most beautiful and the most painful moments in Barry's life so far happened to occur exactly at the same time. In fact, they were exactly the same moment: the moment he sped into STAR Labs and gave Leonard Snart back to his sister.

There was tension in the room, that sort of electricity born from exasperated expectation. The very instant his hands let go of Leonard's arms and the world stilled back into place, Barry saw Lisa spin around in slow motion, her eyes wide and glossy as her features opened into a heart-breaking, overjoyed smile.

“Lenny?”

The tremor in her voice, the way her hands rose to her belly as she saw him – as if their baby, too, was sensing that its father had returned... It was all so wonderful and touching that Barry almost forgot that the beauty of it all was also killing him inside.

“Lisa!”

And Leonard smiled back at Lisa with a shimmer in his eyes, and in a blink she was in his arms, being twirled around in the air as they laughed and cried into each other's embrace, kissing and touching and kissing again and again, finally, _finally_ together.

“Lise,” Leonard muttered with his face buried in her hair and his arms wrapped so tightly around her that Barry was afraid he might hurt her. “Oh my god.”

Lisa was quietly sobbing against his chest, clawing the fabric of his parka like a drowning man would have clung to a lifebuoy. And Barry by now knew her well enough to see how happy she was – through the tears and the sobs, she was happy: finally whole, finally complete again. A perfect picture.

How could this be wrong? How could so much love – such a pure, powerful love – be wrong?

And Barry... he had no place in all of this, no role, nor had he any right to ask for one. He was going to have to step back, watch these two people he cared so much about drift away from him to carry on with their life together, and he didn't know how he was going to cope with that.

He would never be able to eat cinnamon pancakes without thinking about Lisa and the smudges of flour on her face. He would never forget the small portion of path he had walked by her side in such a delicate moment of her life and that, for a short while, he had secretly felt like this baby was a little his baby, too.

When they finally pulled apart, Leonard held Lisa back and observed her eagerly from head to toe with an increasingly brightening smile.

“Look at you,” he whispered in awe. “You got so big.”

Lisa let out a small, sniffly giggle. “Yeah. Barry has been keeping us well fed,” she joked.

Barry hadn't been psychologically ready to take the grateful look both Snarts turned to him. It came as a punch in his stomach, hard and merciless, and yet so sweet he just couldn't help smiling in return.

“I only provided the food,” he said dismissively. “She did most of the cooking.”

But Leonard, still holding Lisa's hand, put a hand on his shoulder and stared deep into his eyes: “I owe you big time, Scarlet.”

Barry shook his head. “Don't mention it. Your sister has been a very enjoyable company.”

“Ditto,” said Lisa, her tone back to her normal, flirtatious purr. Leonard took the back of her hand and pressed it lovingly to his lips.

“God, I missed you.”

Lisa rested her head onto his shoulder and rubbed her cheek against it. “I missed you, too,” she sighed. “We both did. Right, Barry?”

“Uh?” Barry blinked, caught off guard by such a controversial statement. “Oh, er...”

Lisa smirked at him through her lashes.

“He glitches, sometimes.”

“I can see that,” said Leonard, fixing Barry with a strange, calculating look. Barry held it, wondering if Leonard could read him so easily to figure out his feelings for his sister... and for him.

What Lisa had implied... Did she think Barry felt something for Leonard? _Only_ for Leonard?

“So, uh,” Cisco came forward, slightly guarded. “Sorry to interrupt whatever's going on here, but... what the hell happened to you, Snart?”

So Leonard told him. He told them all what he had already told Barry; Caitlin gasped indignantly when he got to the part where Lewis had orchestrated to put someone after his own daughter in order to obtain his son's full cooperation.

“But... she's _pregnant!”_

“And his own daughter?” Cisco interjected.

“It's not like our old man ever cared much about anybody but himself,” Leonard argued dryly. Lisa squeezed his hand; he turned to her to ask her: “Did you notice anyone suspicious?”

“Not really, but-” Lisa frowned in concentration, then suddenly something clicked. “The woman at the baby store, Barry!” She sought for Barry's eyes. “The one who didn't take the elevator. She was at the restaurant, and I think I saw her in a car outside Erika's office.”

Barry knew exactly who she was talking about. “The one who nearly run over me. I remember her. I remember her car, too.”

“And the plate?” Leonard inquired, earning an eye roll from Barry.

“Please, Leonard. I'm a CSI. Cisco, can we check your database?”

“Sure, bro!”

He gave the Snarts a silent nod, then followed Cisco and Caitlin to the other room.

As he walked away, he felt like he was leaving a bridge collapsing behind his back, and Lisa and Leonard were on the other side.

 

*

 

Leonard couldn't let go of Lisa.

They were safe in one of the most secure places in the city, but he couldn't let go of her hand, couldn't lose sight of her, not even for one second. It was going to take time and a lot of patience for the fear to fade out. If Lewis had ordered him to slit his own throat to save Lisa, Leonard wouldn't have hesitated, just like he wouldn't have hesitated to kill the bastard for the very same reason.

Lisa, on her part, seemed to feel the same way about him: her fingers were firmly intertwined with his, her eyes kept searching for his, just for assurance. They were together again. Nothing else mattered.

“If there's anyone who can find that bitch, that's Scarlet,” he told her, and Lisa nodded.

“I know. Barry is... special.”

“He is,” Leonard agreed, scrutinising her intently. She was beautiful now more than ever: her features were softer, her cheeks rosy; there was a light in her eyes he couldn't quite place.

“Did he hurt you?” Lisa asked, cupping his cheek. “Dad. Did he-?”

“No.” Leonard closed his hand around her wrist, stroked the back of it with his thumb. “Only way he could have hurt me was if he hurt you.” He glanced down at her belly, as if to stress the plurality of that _you._ “But you were in safe hands.”

Lisa leant her forehead against his with a smile. “We were.”

They stood like this for a while, absorbing each other's presence, finding each other again after such a long time apart.

“He's gone, Lise. He's never gonna hurt us again.”

He told her what he hadn't told the others: that he had almost murdered their father cold-bloodedly in front of Barry, and he would have, if Lewis hadn't been a wicked bastard until the very end.

“Oh, Lenny.”

Lisa pulled him into a hug. He inhaled her scent, bittersweet and familiar, and noticed there was something different about it, a subtle but definite alteration. He thought he knew where it came from, and this thought, for some reason, made him smile inwardly.

“Are you really okay?” he asked. “Is _everything_ okay?”

“More than okay.” He had never seen a smile so luminous and joyful as the one Lisa gave him. She looked like she was about to say something else, but her features froze for a second as she touched her abdomen with a surprised _Oh;_ her smile grew even broader. “I think someone wants to say hi.”

Leonard's heart leaped. “What?”

“Give me your hand.”

Lisa pressed his palm to a precise spot on her swollen belly. It was soft and warm, quite different from what Leonard remembered, but whatever she was feeling, he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything at all.

He shouldn't be disappointed: there was still plenty of time, they still had a few months to go...

“I can't-” he began, a bit disappointed, but then something like a faint thump hit him, and he was suddenly flooded with the most incredible warmth and fierce, overwhelming love. “O _h.”_ And then he felt it again, and again. He couldn't stop grinning like a pathetic idiot. “That was-?”

“Yeah.” Lisa guided his hand up and down her belly, following the little movements as the baby shifted. It was the most incredible feeling in the world. “It started stirring as soon as you spoke.”

“It? You don't know the gender, yet?”

Lisa shrugged. “We were waiting for you.”

A touched smile pulled at the corners of Leonard's mouth, shining up through his eyes. He had never felt so overwhelmed with joy and love.

There had been a moment, back at the beginning of the pregnancy, when he'd been afraid. The first few weeks had been rough on Lisa: the unrelenting morning sickness had led her to the hospital a couple of times with an IV in her arm and cold sweat upon Leonard's forehead. She had lost so much weight that for weeks they were told there were high chances she would lose the baby, and she cried for that, night and day, and Leonard with her, because despite it all being scary and unexpected, they had cherished this kid since the very first moment, and losing it would mean losing a part of themselves.

It had been such a relief when, after hitting the tenth week, the morning sickness started wearing off a bit and Lisa had managed to regain some weight. Once past the first trimester milestone, they both had finally allowed themselves to be excited for the little life growing within her.

And now here they were, halfway there.

“This is getting real, isn't it?” he breathed, looking down at Lisa's body with religious reverence. She had changed so much since he had last seen her. “It cannot possibly be a mistake, now.” He smiled at her, stroking her cheek in absolute adoration. “You're round as a basketball, kid's moving in there... This is really happening.”

Lisa smiled softly: “Second thoughts, Daddy?”

“Never,” he said before she even finished. “You?”

Lisa put her arms around is neck, drew him close to kiss him sweet and slow.

“Not a chance,” she whispered, nudging the tip of his nose with her own. “But-” She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye with a stern expression. “There is one thing I need to tell you, Lenny.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feels so stupid but I got so emotional writing this chapter. I can't believe this started off as a oneshot and it became a seven-chapter story... I haven't been able to write stuff longer than a couple of chapters in forever. I'm speechless. These three really have conquered my heart.
> 
> I promise that 7 is the final count: there's going to be one more chapter and an epilogue, and then we're done. (I'm a little sad about this, but also excited!)
> 
> As usual, I'd love to hear what you thought about this.


	6. Give Back What Was Never Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes wishes, even the most unlikely ones, do come true.

After the woman Lewis Snart had put after his daughter was arrested and incarcerated for a list of crimes longer than Barry was tall, everything went back to normal.

Normal being... lonely. At least for Barry.

He felt like a huge had been lifted from his chest, only to be replaced by a new, heavier burden. His life had returned to what it had been before – before Lisa, before two months of constant concern for her and Leonard – yet somehow it didn't feel the same. He still had the same job, had the same friends, he was still the Flash... but something was off. _Nothing_ actually felt the same.

He had no regrets, though. He had done the right thing: now Lisa and Leonard were free. And together.

And he was an idiot.

Only an idiot would fall in love with two people who were in love with each other, and said idiot, as predicted, had had to let them both go, and there was nobody else to blame for this state of prostration but his sorry self.

“Barry? Please, talk to us.”

Cailtlin's voice came muffled and confused to Barry's ears. His cappuccino had long since run cold in front of him; he'd been staring at it for an indiscernible amount of time, during which he'd been vaguely aware Caitlin's and Cisco's anxious looks upon himself.

“There's nothing to say,” he replied meekly, fixing the void before himself. What use would it be, talking about it? It wouldn't change the state of things; it wouldn't magically bring Lisa and Leonard to his doorstep declaring their undying love for him. The sooner he stopped indulging these fantasies, the faster he would be able to forget.

But _how?_ How could he even do that?

He couldn't just _erase_ them, pretend he never met them – never fell in love with them.

“Dude,” Cisco leant forward onto his elbows, trying to sneak a peek at his face. “Your moping is starting to give me the creeps.”

“Look away, then.”

“That's not healthy, man.”

“It's been a week, Barr,” Caitlin soothed, casting Cisco a warning glare. “Maybe you should-”

“Maybe I should _what?”_ snapped Barry, slamming a fist onto the table. “I'm all ears, guys: what should I do to stop feeling like numb crap all the time? I'm open to suggestions!”

Caitlin's and Cisco's mortified faces made him feel even worse. They didn't deserve this. He shouldn't be treating them like shit for caring about him; they were just trying to help.

“I'm sorry,” he apologised. He was going to make it up to them, once he would feel better. If he ever would. “I gotta go.”

“Where?” Caitlin asked while he stood up and grabbed his jacket.

“Some place where my _moping_ doesn't disturb anyone.”

“Oh, Barry, come on! He didn't mean-”

But he was already out of the door.

He decided to walk home – his quiet, empty home. Even if it didn't really feel like home anymore.

He hadn't been able to sleep in his own bed for days. He had grown so used to sleep by Lisa's side, in her bed – no, _the bed he had given her in his guestroom_ – that, even now that she wasn't there, he was trying to get what little comfort he could find under those sheets. He had washed them, but they still smelled like her. Everything did.

Her scent was still in the air, and her mug in the sink. He hadn't had to courage to touch it yet. And the fridge... he couldn't even bear to look at it. On its door, pinned with a daisy magnet, hung the sonogram still he had cried upon. It wasn't healthy for him to keep it there: he needed to find another spot, somewhere out of sight, out of heart's reach.

That was all he had left of a life he would never get to live: a mug he couldn't bring himself to wash and a picture of a future that was going to happen without him.

 

*

 

It was a night like the night he had found Lisa waiting for him when Barry, leaving work, found another Snart leaning against the lamplight with his arms folded and a foot crossed over the other. Black must have been a Snart thing, because both siblings appeared to have an obsession for it and it seemed to be nearly impossile to catch them _not_ wearing black. Barry couldn't blame either of them: they looked dashing in it. But, then again, they looked dashing in everything.

Barry halted, thinking, for a split second, that it was just a mirage in his mind.

“Leonard,” he said, barely audibly.

“Looking a bit off-colour, Scarlet,” Snart greeted with his trademark drawl. “Apologies for the delay, I granted myself a few days to think.”

Barry opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He had no idea what Leonard was talking about.

“Think about what? Is everything okay?”

It couldn't be Lisa. Leonard wouldn't have been so calm and composed if anything had happened to her or the baby.

“We'll see,” was Leonard's enigmatic response. He abandoned the lamplight and walked towards Barry. “Rumour has it,” he begun, blue eyes shining in the dim light. “You have feelings for my sister.”

Barry gaped, dumbfounded.

_How-?_

“And by rumour,” Snart added sardonically. “I mean your face.”

This was _not_ okay. Not remotely okay. Barry wasn't psychologically prepared to have this conversation, not now nor ever. It hurt to even think about it: it hurt to dig up the sharp sting of what he felt for Lisa, and it hurt to be talking about it with Leonard because of what he felt for Leonard.

 _Man, you're completely fucked up,_ he told himself, half-amusedly, half-dejectedly.

What was Leonard thinking? Barry hated that he couldn't seem to be able to read through that deep gaze that was burning through him like only ice could burn, subtle and breath-taking.

“Snart,” he chocked. “I swear, I would never-”

“I know,” Leonard cut off. “You're an honourable man. That's one of the reasons I like you.”

_Oh._

Well, this was not what Barry was expecting.

“You... do?”

No news here, of course. Lisa had told him, though Barry had never believed she was entirely serious.

“ _Please.”_ Leonard unfolded his arms and moved closer to him. “I'm in debt with you, Scarlet. You protected what is most precious to me. There's nothing I could ever do to pay you back for this.”

“I don't want any of that!” Barry clarified indignantly. “I did it because I-” Nope, he definitely couldn't say _that._ “Because it was the right thing to do.”

He thought it had been a good save: he'd been able to refrain himself from a very awkward slip, but a small, knowing smirk curled Leonard's lips.

“So it's true,” he said slowly. “You're in love with Lisa.”

Barry groaned inwardly. So he hadn't said that, but Leonard had figured it out anyway. No wonder Lisa would always beat him at cards: his poker face must be really terrible.

_'You're in love with Lisa.'_

It felt odd to hear it pronounced by someone else, let alone _him._

The dormant ache Barry had worked so hard so bury deep into his chest awoke, triggered by a few innocent words and the very voice that had uttered them. He didn't dare to look up, afraid he would find betrayal in Leonard's eyes.

He wanted to deny, but what difference would it make? Leonard already knew, lying was pointless. So he didn't.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Look, I'm sorry, I just-” Barry trailed off to give Leonard an extremely confused look. “Wait, _what?”_

“Thing is, Barry,” Leonard's eyes bore into his, intense and solemn. “She has feelings for you, too.”

_No._

No, this wasn't- This _couldn't_ be-

“You're not funny,” he said hoarsely. His head was spinning in the most bizarre way. But Leonard's face was still impassively serious. Deadly serious.

“Wasn't trying to be.”

Barry's brain was having a hard time processing the news.

Lisa had...

Lisa was...

 _Lisa – his_ Lisa – had _feelings_ for him?

He couldn't stifle the giant, happy smile that lit up his face. “Really?”

Gradually, Leonard's expression softened. The smile he gave Barry was almost tender.

“Really.”

He didn't seem mad, or pissed, or offended, that Lisa felt something for someone else; if anything, he sounded _pleased._ Which, of course, didn't make any sense.

Did it?

“And that's... good?”

“I would have to snap that pretty neck of yours if you didn't love her back,” Leonard retorted, and Barry knew he wasn't joking.

He tried not to grin too hard, because that was so _him_ to say. “That sounds absolutely reasonable.”

“Glad we agree. Now,” Leonard took another couple of steps towards Barry. “That leaves just one issue to be fixed.”

“Uh?” Barry was too busy trying not to hyperventilate at the sudden invasion of his personal space to really pay attention to what was being said.

“You and me, Scarlet.” Leonard stepped closer yet, proceeding to break the borders of Barry's _intimate_ space. They were so close they could have easily- “I think it's time for us to figure out once and for all in which sense we want to _bang_ each other.”

Snart's voice was a breath of temptation on Barry's wet lips, sweet and silky and sinful. It went straight to Barry's head, along with the words it had spoken.

“Y-you want to-”

“It's more than that, and you know it.” Another step towards Barry. Blue eyes tearing down barriers to stare straight into his soul. “I liked you before,” said Leonard, barely above a whisper. “But after what you did for Lisa... You didn't just keep her and our child safe. You took care of them. You _loved_ them.”

Barry shivered. Having Leonard so close was making him feel _things._ It didn't help that they were discussing such sensitive matters.

“I saw the pictures, Barry,” Leonard conveyed. It wasn't very clear whether it was a warning or a simple statement. “My old man made sure his bitch sent me updates every few hours. I saw you two together, saw how happy she was with you.”

To anyone else, it might have sounded like a threat, but Barry could tell Leonard was actually expressing approval, in his own scary way. He was letting Barry know he was glad Lisa had been happy with him. So Barry really couldn't help asking: “And you weren't... jealous?”

Leonard looked at him condescendingly, making him feel like a naïve child who had just asked a naïve question.

“Jealousy equals weak love, lack of trust,” he explained. “What Lisa and I have, that's too deep and strong to be threatened by _more_ love. I know what she feels for me and she knows what I feel for her. That's why she was never jealous of you.”

Did Leonard just imply that he and Lisa had _discussed_ their attraction to Barry? He could picture them, sitting on the couch and, in between kisses, one of them just blurting _'I think Barry Allen is cute'_ and the other replying something roguish like _'I should have known: we've always had the same taste in people'..._

So both Lisa and Leonard liked him as in _liked_ him? And both of them were perfectly and mutually comfortable with it? Barry felt pleasantly hot all over his body. It was like he'd just won the lottery of all lotteries.

“Now, Scarlet...”

Barry found himself with his back against the wall of the police station. Leonard had breached any concept of simple _proximity_ and was now quite literally standing against Barry, their bodies touching in all the right places, sending jolts of electricity through Barry's limbs, rising the hair on the nape of his neck.

“Yes?” he stuttered feebly, too busy trying to resist the instinct to look down at Leonard's agonisingly close lips to actually be paying attention to anything else. His mouth was so dry...

His heart skipped a beat when he felt Leonard's hand curl around the back of his neck.

“I'll give you three seconds to flash away from this.”

Barry gulped. “Flash away from what?”

The little smirk on Leonard's face was unusually mild, almost _loving,_ as he slowly reached forward. “Make an educated guess.”

If he hadn't had the wall for support, Barry would have had a hard time standing, because the look of pure lust that Leonard was giving him was making him blissfully weak.

“One...” Leonard began, his fingertips pressing ever so gently into Barry's skin. “Two...”

He never made it to three.

There was only so much sexual tension a guy could endure, and Barry wasn't even surprised of his own boldness when he lounged forward to clash his lips against Leonard's.

A low moan rose from Leonard's throat as Barry grabbed his hips to yank him to himself, tilting his head at just the right angle to feel the impalpable brush of Leonard's tongue against his own. He let out a muffled groan as the kiss deepened and grew hungry, _needy._ Leonard's fingers pulled at his hair, dug into his back as if he was afraid Barry might slip away. But Barry was rather content where he was, doing what he was doing, breathless and dizzy and aroused to a point he could hardly keep himself from grinding into Leonard's crotch, desperate for friction.

This _was_ happening.

He was kissing _Leonard_ fucking _Snart,_ aka Captain Cold, aka his former enemy, aka his other crush's partner in every possible sense of the term.

Life was good.

When they broke apart, Leonard rested his forehead against Barry's, panting and flushed, lips obscenely wet. Barry noticed, in a fleeting shard of lucidity, that he wasn't the only one who was hard, and that was strangely flattering.

“That... that was... uhm...” he panted, but his brain was momentarily out of order.

Leonard's hand slipped down Barry's head to cup his face. “So,” he said, just as breathlessly. “You care about me, too.”

Barry's brows arched. “Is that even a question, by now?”

“No,” Leonard agreed with a hint of a smile. “Not really. And I know for a fact you also care for the kid, because you keep this in your wallet.”

Barry gaped as Leonard popped out of nowhere the sonogram picture that had once been on Barry's fridge. Barry automatically checked the back pocket of his jeans and found it empty.

“You- How-?”

With a cat-like smirk, Leonard lifted his other hand: he was holding up Barry's wallet between two fingers. He threw it at Barry, then handed him the picture, gazing at him with such intensity that Barry's knees went wonderfully weak.

“Here's the deal: if you feel this, too – what Lisa and I feel for you...”

_'What Lisa and I feel for you.'_

Oh, it sounded _so good._

“And you can accept the way things are – the way _we_ are,” Leonard went on. “We can do this. You, me, her, the kid... If you're interested, there's room for you in the picture.”

 _Overwhelming_ couldn't even begin to describe a tiny shred of the emotional storm that took over Barry so unexpectedly.

It was _too good_ – too good to believe. To good be real.

He, Lisa, and Leonard _together?_ Raising the baby _together?_ Was this really an actual option?

He could die for this.

He could have _killed_ for this – for this life he'd been dreaming and fantasising about and that now all of a sudden was at arm's reach, an offer so wonderful and so terrifying he almost didn't dare to believe it.

“Are you-” Barry tried to say, but words caught in his throat, throbbing with emotion. “Are you saying what I think you're saying?”

There was a speck of emotion in Leonard's eyes, too. It was touching – and _reassuring_ – to see him so much invested in this.

“The three of us, we want the same thing,” said Leonard, voice firm and clear. “I can't imagine anything more simple than this.”

And, just like that, Lisa appeared from behind the corner, stepping into the light right next to her brother, looking bigger and more beautiful than ever. There they were, the two reasons of his misery, standing in front of him just like he had dreamed so many times, the whole world laid out at his feet.

“What do you say, Barry?” said Lisa, sweet as honey, leaning an elbow against Leonard's shoulder. “Do you wanna be a part of this little fucked up family?”

Barry's heart felt like it was going to explode.

He must be hallucinating, there was no other explanation. This was _way_ too good to be true.

What were the odds of being so madly in love with _two_ people who were so madly in love with each other and being loved back by _both?_

“Please, tell me this is not a cruel joke,” he begged, ashamed by how desperate he sounded, though both Snarts were looking at Barry in a way no one had ever looked at him, like everything in the universe gravitated around him.

“Do I look amused?” asked Leonard, so flatly it couldn't possibly be just teasing.

Barry shrugged with a sheepish smile: “A little?”

The sound of Lisa's delighted laugh vibrated deep inside Barry. “He knows you, Lenny.”

“Oh, he does.”

Barry's imagination was racing, projected into a possible future where he got to wake up everyday to Len and Lisa asleep at his sides, and get up with them, cook with them, walk with them in the streets pushing a stroller – maybe _two,_ or- or one of those beautiful baby wraps...

Oh, god, he absolutely wanted to see Leonard wearing one of those.

“Are you guys for real?”

They both chuckled, in that Snart way of theirs that curled their lips impishly and made their eyes glimmer with mischief.

“Come on, Barr,” urged Lisa. “You can't leave Lenny outnumbered.”

“What do you mean out-” Just as he said it, Barry's look fell on the hand she was holding under her belly, and suddenly it hit him. “You're having a girl!”

Lisa giggled and nodded, moving her hand back and forth in gentle strokes. “We're having a girl.”

“A girl.” He felt so insanely proud. And it wasn't like he had any reason to be, because he'd had no share in the making of this baby girl, but... hell, he could already picture her, bronze hair and sky eyes and too smart for anyone to handle. “A _girl._ Wow.” He was simpering like an idiot. “Oh my god, that's- that's-”

“Enough babbling, Scarlet,” Leonard interrupted. He nuzzled his face into Lisa's hair, sending Barry a very sexy, very suggesting look. “Do you want us: yes or no.”

“Yes!” exclaimed Barry, maybe a bit too eagerly. Who needed dignity with these two as partners, anyway? “Yes!” he repeated, trying to pull himself together. “Of course I want you! Both of you! All three of you!” Didn't that sound damn awesome? “I absolutely do!”

Lisa and Leonard were pressed against one another, basically _purring_ at each other. The sight of them looking at him with those mesmerising eyes was starting to make Barry's pants feel uncomfortably tight.

“I think we broke him, Lenny,” Lisa joked, and Leonard whispered in her ear:

“Just wait until we get him to bed.”

Barry blushed to his toes, a rush of heat flaring in his veins. He had never thought about that part, but now that it had been mentioned... Fuck, his pants were definitely too tight.

Then Leonard turned to Lisa, took her chin between his fingers and gave a quick nod towards Barry.

“Go ahead, sis. I can see how much you want to do that. You've waited long enough.”

Lisa's face melted into an expression of pure love. She grinned at her brother, dropped a soft peck on his cheek as she whispered “I love you, Lenny.”

“I know,” Leonard said when she pulled away. He watched her walk to Barry, smiling at her wobbly steps.

“What are you talking ab-” Barry started, but Lisa grabbed his jacket and jerked him down to shut him up with a breath-takingly passionate kiss. Despite his surprise, Barry welcomed her in his arms and returned the kiss with a hunger he had built up in weeks – _months_ of repressed feelings, her taste sweet and tantalising in his mouth, her soft moans a heavenly torture he would never ever get enough of.

He sighed embarrassingly loudly when she withdrew from him, licking her lips like a lioness who had just feasted on her favourite meat.

“And I love you,” she told him, gracing him with the same, soft peck she had brushed over Leonard's cheek. Barry remembered the first time she'd been this close to him, that day in his kitchen; he took a moment to enjoy the press of her round belly against his abs, the touch of her fingers on his arms. He was so ecstatic and high on adrenaline he was starting to feel slightly drunk.

She _loved_ him.

_Lisa loved him._

“Love you _two,”_ he said, placing a feather kiss on her forehead. “Pun intended,” he added, glancing at Leonard from over her shoulder.

“Don't look at me, Scarlet,” Leonard scoffed, but Barry didn't miss the faint shade of pink that tinged his face. “You won't get it so easily from me.”

Barry smiled, not remotely worried, and winked.

“I'm a very patient man.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure this is as good as I wanted it to be. I feel like I should have done _more_ but no matter how many times I tried to make this better, I was never satisfied, so take it as it is.


	7. EPILOGUE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes to an end... with a beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be SHEER, UTTER, TOOTH-ROTTING FLUFF. There's going to be so much fluff you're going to feel sick. Proceed with caution.

“Let me get this straight: your old man took you and threatened to hurt Baby Girl to make you do stuff.”

“Yep.”

“And while you were gone, Baby Girl stayed with this loser.”

“Correct.”

“Why?”

“It's a long story.”

“And now you three are a thing.”

“Yes.”

Mick looked from Leonard to Lisa and Barry with a frown. Barry could almost hear the cogs turning in his brain. Mick's consideration of the situation lasted about two seconds, after which he shrugged and said: “Uh. Okay.”

Barry was almost offended. “Wait, that's it? Just _okay?_ _”_

“Mick's not easily impressed,” said Len with a small smirk.

“He didn't even blink when Lenny and I told him about us,” Lisa added, following with her eyes as Mick crossed the kitchen to grab a handful of chips from the bowl on the table. She was doing that thing Barry loved, stretching her belly out with her hands of her back. She did that when she felt sore, so Barry wasn't really proud of himself for finding it so adorable, but he would usually make up for that with a nice massage.

He couldn't tear his eyes off her. She was the living picture of radiance: soft and glowing and _happy._ She was happier than usual, today, because Mick was finally back. She couldn't stop smiling after missing him for so long. Barry wasn't sure what Mick had been up to during these last few months, something about a job across the country, but he'd guessed that the less the knew, the better.

Mick had teared up (and hadn't even tried to hide it) when he'd seen Lisa; he had pulled her into a bone-crushing hug that had had both Barry and Len quite worried, but the scene had been so unique and heart-warming that Barry hadn't been able to resist and captured it with his phone. That was going straight to his collection.

“You didn't _tell me,”_ Mick grumbled over a mouthful of chips. “I found you eye-fucking over breakfast.”

“Semantics,” said Leonard over a small, nostalgic grin he shared with Lisa.

Mick grabbed a chair, turned it around and straddled it in front of the bowl of chips. He took another handful.

“So, how does this work? Who's top, bottom and middle?”

Barry glanced over at his partners, horrified. They'd made him promise to be cool and patient around Mick, but _this_ was not part of the deal. _At all._

“We are creative,” said Leonard just as Lisa said: “We take turns.”

Before Barry could hijack the conversation to more pleasant and less awkward subjects (the weather perhaps, that seemed safe enough), Mick snorted:

“Bullshit. Baby Girl's totally a top.”

 _Yes, she is,_ Barry found himself thinking. Lisa met his eyes with a knowing smirk and Barry realised she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“I can be a very good power bottom,” she objected, feigning indignation.

Leonard gave her the same sly look she'd just given Barry: “She sure can.”

“Can we _not_ discuss our sexual life with Mick, please?” Barry snapped, feeling very hot all over his face and neck. He was used to Len and Lisa's utter lack of inhibitions, but extending that to Mick Rory was a little too much. “Unlike you two, I have boundaries.”

Mick was sniggering over his chips. “He's cute when he blushes.”

“I know, right?” agreed Len, running a lascivious look all over Barry's body, making him uncomfortable in a completely different way.

“I'm done here. So done!”

“Don't be shy, honey,” Leonard sneered, with a mocking emphasis on the word _honey._ “Mick's only trying to make conversation.”

“No, he's not.”

“No, I'm not,” Mick echoed.

“Alright, boys, things are getting a little overheated in here.” Lisa came forward, gave Barry a brief, calming rub on his back, then did the same with Mick. “Mick, baby, you must be thirsty. Let me get you a beer.”

Mick turned just slightly. Lisa's huge stomach was at his eye level; his expression shifted while he watched it, transfiguring his face to a point Barry could barely recognise him. When he looked up at Lisa, his eyes oozed love.

“You sit down and rest, princess. I can get the beer myself. Not so fast, Pretty Eyes!” he grunted when Barry made to turn his back to him. He turned around and found Mick pointing a warning finger at him: “I've got my eye on you. You can break this asshole's heart as much as you like," he said, hooking his thumb back over his shoulder towards where Leonard was standing. “But if you hurt Baby Girl in any way,” he whispered in a terrifying, gravelly tone. “I'll crush your skull with my bare hands.”

Despite the safe distance of a few feet separating them, Barry felt like he was being threatened with a blade against his throat; strangely enough, this made him smile, not much for the threat itself, but rather because it moved him to see someone else loving Lisa and Len as much as he did. Mick had joked about Barry being free to break Len's heart as he pleased, but he knew that, if that was ever to happen, Mick would still want Barry's head on a silver plate.

“I'll... keep that in mind. Thanks.”

Satisfied with the answer, Mick looked up at Lisa again:

“How you doin'? The kid alright in there?”

Lisa brushed the back of her hand over his face, beaming. “I'm great and your niece is growing healthy and strong, Uncle Mick.”

There was a moment of stillness, in which Mick appeared incapable of moving or even breathing. Barry spotted a hint of a twitch in his lower lip.

“You're having a girl.”

“Yeah,” Lisa confirmed, beaming even brighter, and Barry had a flashback of the night he learned the baby was a girl: his reaction hadn't been much different from Mick's.

Leonard leaned over the table, propped on his elbows to give his friend an amused look: “Mick? Are you crying?”

Mick faced away. He quickly wiped a gloved hand across his eyes with a grunt.

“Shut up, it's just... a twig or somethin'.”

“A twig. Sure.”

Lisa sent her brother a warning look and he immediately stopped teasing. She wrapped an arm around Mick's broad shoulders and bent to place a kiss on top of his head. Barry was tempted to take another picture, but he was lucky enough to be alive to see this, he didn't want to risk his life just yet. He was positive there would be other chances to immortalise Mick Rory's humanity.

After Mick gathered himself, he cleared his throat: “So now that the bastard's gone, you guys are safe?” He glanced at Leonard, then up at Lisa, then at Leonard again.

“We should be,” said the latter. He and Mick stared at each other for a few seconds in a perfectly silent dialogue, at the end of which Mick's attention suddenly moved to Barry, and he chuckled.

“There's gotta be some perks in havin' the Flash as a boyfriend, huh?”

“Wait, how did you-” Barry turned to Len, not really to accuse him, but more like to question him; Len, however, shook his head, and Mick, as if reading their minds, said:

“Kinda hard to forget of that ass.”

“Told you,” grinned Lisa.

“Maybe you should wear a skirt over that tight little suit of yours, Barry.”

“Shut up, Len!” Barry was trying really hard not to smile, despite a very superficial embarrassment. So this was going to his life now: being constantly teased by a bunch of crooks, surrounded by laughter and affection? Where could he sign up?

“Aren't my boys just adorable?” Lisa was looking at all of them with the closest expression to _heart eyes_ Barry had ever seen. He still had to get completely used to that, to being looked at like he was something wonderful and extremely valuable. Like he was everything.

Barry felt Leonard's hand come to rest on his hip as he appeared behind him. Barry hooked an arm around his waist and jokingly tugged him closer. He felt Len's body tense in a way that, he had learned, had nothing to do with discomfort and everything to do with arousal.

“You'd better watch your moves, Barry,” Len drawled. He squeezed Barry's ass warningly, making him jump. “You know I'm a sensitive guy.”

“Yes, you are,” said Lisa with a naughty glint in her eyes.

“You guys are disgusting,” said Mick, pulling the whole bowl to himself under Leonard's playful glare.

“Thanks, Mick.”

Barry followed Len to the fridge.

“Does he get better with time or...?”

“Nope. You'll get used to him.”

“I highly doubt that.”

They pulled out a few beers and Lisa's lemon juice; Barry had no idea how she could drink gallons of that without a single spoonful of sugar, but there had been a return of her morning sickness, recently, and this was the only thing that could smother it. Doctor Jonsson had assured it could happen, sometimes, and there was nothing to worry about, but Barry and Len had still bought several pounds of lemons to keep handy, just to be safe.

At first, Barry had feared that he would be some sort of side character, in their relationship, not because he thought Lisa or Len would purposely set him aside, but he'd just guessed it would be inevitable that he, the newbie, wouldn't feel so much involved as the two of them were, given the fact they had literally been together since forever.

Nothing of that had happened. In fact, sometimes Barry had a feeling Len and Lisa tended to be overprotective with him, making him feel like the little one – which he was, obviously – and that wasn't half as bad as he would have imagined. Not only he'd never felt excluded, but he'd discovered that sharing was actually easier and better than any two-way relationship he'd ever had. Taking care of Lisa with Leonard was twice a pleasure: he got to spoil and pamper her with someone who enjoyed that just as much, and he got to talk about how much he loved her with someone he loved and who loved him back.

How was he even so lucky?

“Hey.” Lisa nudged his side, shaking him from his musings. “You okay?”

Barry smiled at the jug of lemon juice he'd been staring at, then turned that smile to Lisa:

“I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of this.” _This_ included too many things: he was having a baby with his two lovers, they were living together, looking for a bigger house, planning new beginnings and nurseries and indoor swings for when they would have more room for any of those. It was a little frightening to allow himself to fully believe all his dreams were coming true. “Can you pinch me?”

Giggling, Lisa pulled him as close as her size allowed. “I can do better than that,” she whispered. She curled a hand around his neck and tugged him down until their lips met in a tender kiss. Barry's heart sang; these were his favourite kisses, sweet and unexpected, a gesture that had no other purpose than a display of pure, simple affection.

When they broke apart, he was grinning so hard his jaw hurt. “I think I might use another pinch or two.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh.”

Lisa gazed over Barry's shoulder. “Maybe Lenny would like to help us?”

Behind Barry, Leonard scoffed, but didn't even try to pretend to resist. He slipped between Barry and the counter and complied to his sister's request with a content smirk, leaning forward to place a possessive kiss on Barry's lips and one on Lisa's. It gave Barry a gratifying sensation of being _claimed._

“Uncle Mick's right,” Len commented as he pulled back, his hands resting on the small of their backs. “We're disgusting.”

Barry looked at Lisa, finding a reflection of his own joy mirrored in her eyes and, hardly concealed, in Leonard's.

He grinned even harder, the most incredible warmth flooding his heart.

“You know what? I can live with that.”

 

*

 

[ 4 MONTHS LATER ]

 

Barry sat at the counter of their new kitchen sipping coffee with the smuggest, most self-satisfied chuckle plastered all across his face.

He had two Snarts in the house (plus one in the making) currently arguing over the preparation of a chocolate and coconut cake, and he was shamelessly strutting like a peacock because... well, _life goals._

Crime apart, he would have thought that people like the Snart siblings were completely out of his league, and he would still be thinking it, hadn't he so kindly been proven wrong. He loved his crooks with their flaws and their troubles, and maybe he wouldn't have loved them half as much if they hadn't been through what they had been through. After all, Barry mused, he had fallen in love with their pieces before he fell in love with their whole.

“Still with us, Barry?”

“Uh-huh,” said Barry, still staring dreamily at the two gorgeous specimens of humans in front of himself. “Just admiring my achievements.”

Len quirked a brow: “Bold of you to assume _you_ conquered _us.”_

“Just because you're the ones with the predatory looks, doesn't mean I can't hunt, too!” Barry protested, making Lisa laugh.

“Said the fierce labrador puppy.”

Yeah, the metaphor was on point, he had to concede that. Compared to them, he was indeed a cute puppy, and sometimes he felt like he had adopted two cats – or two cats had adopted him, depending on the situation. It was funny because he had never considered himself a cat person, and yet here he was.

“I'll grow a beard,” he said stubbornly. “You'll see how fierce I can be!”

“Please no,” laughed Lisa. Her pink apron was covered in flour and there were two large chocolate hand prints in the middle of her belly, where Len had touched her minutes ago. Barry snapped a picture with his phone.

“This is going to the fridge!” he announced as he proudly checked how it had turned out. Not to brag, but he was great photographer. That, or his subjects were way too photogenic.

For the sake of his self-esteem, he decided it was both.

The fridge was already half occupied, scattered with stills from the baby's sonograms mixed with the pictures Lewis's accomplice had taken while tailing after Lisa: Lisa and Barry having breakfast at Jitters; Lisa and Barry grocery shopping; Barry helping Lisa out of the car; Lisa laughing with Barry in the street; Barry holding Lisa in the glass elevator...

Barry had demanded photos of Len and Lisa together (he loved watching them through the years, seeing their bond grow, shift, evolve) and he kept updating the collection day by day. His favourite addition, at the moment, was a stolen moment Cisco had captured a few weeks ago during a picnic at the park. It was so simple, but somehow Barry couldn't stop looking at it: Leonard sitting against a tree with Lisa leaning back against his chest and Barry snuggled under one arm, all three slumbering beneath the warm afternoon sunlight filtering through the leaves; Lisa had a plate perched on top of her huge belly with a half eaten and half melted strawberry cheesecake she never finished.

They looked peaceful. Content. _Domestic._

As they did right now, trying their best to muster up the most improvised Sunday lunch in human history because Lisa had decided last minute to invite people over. The kitchen was a mess, but it was such a nice mess that Barry just couldn't help thinking that this was exactly what family was supposed to feel like: a cosy, beautiful disaster.

“Like what you see?” Leonard commented cheekily while adding the final touches to the cake. “Do you want us to strike a pose?”

“No! Just keep doing what you're doing!”

“Haven't we got enough pictures already?” Len argued. Barry snorted.

“There's plenty of room left on the fridge.”

“And plenty of time to fill it up.”

“We can always buy another fridge.”

“That sounds _so_ practical!” Lisa quipped.

“And _cheap.”_

“You guys could easily steal a couple of fridges for your beloved boyfriend,” said Barry matter-of-factly. He could have said _'for me',_ but why deprive himself of the pleasure of saying _'your boyfriend'?_ It sounded too good not to say that as often as possible.

“Considering the amounts of food you and Lisa consume,” said Len. “We probably need a new one anyway.”

Lisa made an outraged face: “I'm eating for two, thank you very much!”

Barry shrugged. “And I have a super metabolism, so... new fridge?”

“I won't stoop to stealing fridges.” Leonard put the cake into the oven, then cleaned his hands into a towel. “You guys want one, we go out there like common peasants and _buy_ it. I'm shocked that you, of all people, would suggest that, Barry.”

Barry, who was absolutely smitten with his Snarts' tongue-in-cheek, faked a pout.

“I've learned to turn a blind eye to a lot of things for you two.”

“Which is hardly an effort, since we basically retired after Lisa got pregnant.”

“Key word being _basically.”_

“Cheeky, Barry,” Len sent him a teasing glance. “You're lucky you're cute.”

Most men wouldn't have liked being called cute, but Barry was aware there was this innocent air to him which seemed to attract a lot of people, and since it had happened to attract just the right two people, he wasn't certainly going to complain.

“Remember when I used to think cute, nice boys were not my thing, Lenny?" asked Lisa, elbowing Len's side. “What a fool, huh?”

“Joke's on you, now,” Len replied, looking at Barry with an impish curl of his lips. “You scored the cutest, nicest boy on the entire planet.”

“You guys really need to stop that," Barry warned, but the big, fat grin shining across his face betrayed his poorly stifled smugness. He would never tire of this flirtatious banter: it proved just how close they'd got, how well they all blended together. Their differences were their strength. According to geometry, three points needed to lie on different lines in order to determine a unique plane and, unromantic as geometry was, it was a very wise truth.

Once the timer conveyed that the cake was ready, Leonard pulled it out of the oven and laid it one the table. It looked delicious. Lisa hadn't been kidding when she said Leonard had taught her to cook: they were both so good in the kitchen that sooner or later Barry was going to suggest they start a bakery or something. That sounded like a good back-up plan for two retired criminals soon to be parents.

“Hey, we did great!”

Len looked up from the cake to chuckle at Barry: _“We?”_

Barry blushed. Okay, so maybe he'd only provided verbal support for the preparation of the masterpiece, but that had to count for something, right?

“Shut up, let's take a selfie with it!”

“Sorry to kill your enthusiasm, sweetheart,” Len interrupted. As usual, his terms of endearment sounded like mockery, but Barry loved that and he had a feeling Len knew very well. “But Lisa's too big for us _and_ a cake to fit in a picture with her.”

Lisa hit Len with the apron she'd just taken off. “Jerk.”

“Trainwreck,” Len retorted and, again, the mockery in his tone was so unmistakably full of love that he just couldn't be taken seriously.

There were things between Lisa and Leonard that Barry would never be a part of – memories, habits, inside jokes, things they had picked up together across a whole lifetime – but it didn't bother him. It was inevitable. There would be new memories to build, a new story to write, starting from the house they were currently living in. Barry's former apartment would have never been able to fit a family of three, soon to be four, and with Mick coming and going every other week the necessity of an adequate accomodation had become apparent very soon, especially because neither Lisa nor Leonard had wanted to go back to the place where he had been kidnapped.

It had taken them a couple of months, during which they'd temporarily squatted at Barry's place, but at long last they'd found the perfect home, modest but large enough to welcome them all and a couple of occasional guests, close enough to the City but far from its chaos. This was something they'd all agreed unanimously on: there had to be a garden and lots of greenery. Their baby girl (and any other kid coming next) was going to grow up in a healthy environment, with fresh air and a lot of space to play outside.

Barry was already having daydreams of the three of them watching her crawl in the grass, chubby feet taking tentative steps under their excited gazes.

Yes, they definitely were going to need a new fridge. Two, ideally.

“Guys,” Barry interrupted, sheer adoration oozing from every syllable. “I only asked for one pic.”

“I'm camera shy,” Len grumbled.

“You're nothing shy.” Lisa pinched his arm, making him wince with a muffled cry of pain. “You're just an old grump!”

Len ended up trapped between Lisa and Barry with one of his grumpiest faces yet as Barry took the pic and sent it to their upcoming guests.

Barry was about to ask to take one where Len didn't look like he'd swallowed a lemon, when he noticed Lisa was rubbing her back with a suffering grimace.

“Lise!” he exclaimed alarmedly. “Are you okay? _Is it time?”_

Leonard's face had already paled when she lifted a hand reassuringly.

“I'm fine, I just need a pause. My back is killing me.” She eased down into the closest chair and let out a long breath of relief. “I'm pretty sure a woman's body wasn't designed to carry out a pregnancy on just two feet.”

As a scientist, Barry had to concede she had a point: biologically, that was a very accurate observation. He could only imagine the physical distress she was going through, her body turned into a full-time incubator for a whole nine months, growing and nurturing another life, carrying aroud twenty extra pounds mostly concentrated in her middle. Men could never endure what women did during pregnancy, let alone childbirth.

Oh, god, just thinking about that was making him panic. He couldn't bear the thought of Lisa in pain for hours. Doctor Jonsson had established that a natural birth was the safest option for both mother and baby, and Lisa seemed to be of the same opinion, but Barry and Len were nervous: labour was a part of the process they weren't exactly looking forward to, even though they didn't have the courage to confess this to her. She was the one who was going to have to go through it, after all; if she was okay with that, they were going to support her, even if that meant losing their sanity in the meantime.

Len approached her and started massaging her back, beginning from her shoulders. Lisa moaned contentedly.

“You sure you're okay, sis?”

“I just need some rest,” she sighed. She turned her head to drop a kiss on the inside of Len's wrist, then let him go. “You boys keep working.”

Though reluctantly, Len left her to go and help Barry with the rest of the lunch. There wasn't much left to do: some vegetables to cut for the salad and the table to set.

“While we work...” Barry began carefully. “We should talk about _that.”_

Len pierced him with a glare: “We're not talking about _that._ We always end up fighting.”

“She'll be born in a matter of days! She needs a name, Len!”

“She does, but I'm not calling my daughter Juniper.”

“Why not?” Lisa meddled. “It's a pretty name!”

“Lame.”

“Oh, because Beatrice is so much better, right?”

“Yes.”

“Bea Snart has no flow!”

“Nor does June Snart!”

Barry took a deep breath and, mustering what courage he had left, said: “Cara.”

He had no idea if Len and Lisa would like it or not, but at the very least it had stopped their arguing.

“Uh?”

He'd been rolling this name in his head for a while now, testing how it would sound on Lisa's and Len's lips, picturing them and himself whispering it to a tiny bundle in their arms, calling it after a toddler wobbling towards them, or after an unruly teen who looked precisely like Lisa...

It just... worked.

“Cara,” he repeated, a bit shyly. “With a C, not with a K.” He already had a Kara with a K. It was a little because of her that he liked the name so much. “It's been buzzing in my mind for a while.”

Leonard was looking at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. “Cara,” he said slowly, and it sounded just like Barry had always pictured, a velvety whisper with a fancy curl.

“It's nice?” he stammered. “Means _dear_ in Latin. Or Italian, I'm not sure.”

Len was still observing him intently. “Fitting,” he approved. “Also, four-letter name, like Lisa's. I like it.”

“Yeah, me too.” Lisa leaned back in her chair and smoothed her shirt over the mound of her belly. “Cara with a C. Pretty and badass.”

“Just like her mom,” said Leonard and Barry at the same time. They smirked at each other and Lisa rolled her eyes, visibly pleased.

“Oh, you two!”

“So we have a name?” Barry dares to ask. Lisa exchanged a look with Len and nodded with a big grin.

“We have a name.”

Len went to couch down beside her, spread a hand over her belly and smiled.

“Cara Snart,” he whispered, a vibe of emotion in his voice. “We can't wait to meet you, kid.”

Barry was pretty sure he was about to cry, and he probably would have, hadn't the bell decided to ring just at the right moment.

“I'll get it,” he said, rushing out of the kitchen before they could notice the tears in his eyes. He didn't know when he'd become so sentimental. According to his readings, though, sometimes partners could experience the same symptoms as their pregnant women, and Barry had a suspicion he had been infected with mood swings.

When he opened the door, he had already switched to a cheerful mode.

“Hey, guys!”

“Are we eatin', yet?” asked Mick, brushing past him without even bothering to greet back.

“Lunch's almost ready,” Barry promised as he let Caitlin and Cisco inside.

“Is he always so... harsh?” Caitlin murmured in Barry's ear.

“Always,” Barry confirmed. “But he grows on you, eventually.”

He led Cait and Cisco to the kitchen, where they smelled the air appreciatively and complimented the cooks while Mick pulled Lisa into one of his overwhelming hugs.

“What's Baby Girl doin' up and about?” he complained, taking her in with a concerned scowl. “Sit down, kid, you're ready to pop. Wouldn't wanna rush you to the hospital in the middle of the party.” He plopped down into a chair and held out his arms to her. “Come here.”

Pliantly, Lisa went to sit on Mick's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lovingly ran a hand across her belly. “'t's alright, Snartie,” he muttered to the baby. “Uncle Mick's here, we'll make Mama rest, now.” He rose an angry glare at Len and Barry. “You two are lousy dads, you should take better care of her!”

It made Barry unspeakably happy to hear Mick calling him _dad._ Lisa and Leonard called him Dad on a daily basis (as opposed to Leonard's Daddy) but coming from someone else it felt... nicely validating.

“Leave the boys alone,” Lisa soothed. “I just got up to greet you guys, I promise.”

Mick nodded approvingly. “Good girl. You doin' alright?”

Lisa giggled. “Your niece is dancing the tarantella on my spine, at the moment. I'm sore all over and so big I can barely walk. Apart from that, peachy.”

“Are those two idiots bein' good to you girls?”

Mick's hand was so large it covered half of Lisa's belly. She placed her hand over his and smiled at him so warmly Barry almost felt it on his skin.

“Pretty good. Not as good as you, though.”

“You let me know if I gotta kick their asses for you.”

“As long as I'm lager than I'm tall, I gotta hold you to that.”

“You're being over-dramatic again,” Len accused her.

“Yeah? Alright then: you carry the next one.”

“ _That_ is something I'd love to see!” Barry said, earning a slap on his head from Leonard.

Mick smiled at Lisa's light-hearted laugh.

“You look happy.”

Lisa looked around the kitchen, proud as a queen on a golden throne. Barry swore to himself he was going to make sure she felt like that for the rest of her life, especially when he heard her say:

“I am.”

“Good. You deserve to be.”

Lisa leaned down to press a fond kiss on his temple. “We all do.”

Barry watched, fascinated. Mick was so different with Lisa: it was like seeing a rabid wild wolf instantly turn into a docile, caring puppy. It was what Barry called the _'Heatwave to Cuddlewave Metamorphosis'._ Mick couldn't ever find out, of course, otherwise Barry would be a dead man, but he liked that, he liked that Mick, despite constantly feeling like burning the whole world to ashes, could be so soft for Lisa and Len under his coarse crust. He was most certainly going to spoil their kid rotten.

Oh, speaking of which...

“Hey, we have an announcement!”

The room suddenly fell quiet.

“Oh!” Caitlin joined her hands in front of her face. “You guys are getting married?”

“No!” Barry denied, then, for safety, cast a questioning glance at Lisa and Len. “We're not, right?”

“Let's talk about this again in a few years,” said Len, amusement glittering in his eyes. Barry took a mental note to bring up the subject again once they were alone. For argument's sake.

“Oh my God!” Cisco slammed a hand over his mouth in an exaggerated display of shock. “Lisa's pregnant!”

Even Len laughed; only Caitlin addressed him a scolding look, like a mother reprimanding her child's silliness.

This was good. This – the lunch, the jokes, the fun... Life was _good._

“So, what's the news?” Mick pressed. Both Barry and Lisa looked at Len expectantly; he rolled his eyes then sighed:

“We have a name.”

“Finally!” Caitlin exclaimed, almost angrily. “I've bought a bunch of stuff that's waiting to be embroidered!”

“Seriously? That's your priority right now?” Cisco cut in, then turned to Leonard: “Shoot, bro!”

“I'm not your bro,” Len spit back, but not as venomously as he once would have, which was an enormous progress for him. Barry was confident that sooner or later Len would come to consider Cisco a friend (once he would be willing to get past the fact that he'd kissed Lisa, at least).

“Ladies and gentleman,” Barry announced. “In a couple of weeks you'll be meeting Miss... drum roll...” He drummed his fingers on the table then dramatically shot a finger-gun towards Len, who rolled his eyes again but still indulged him:

“Cara Snart.”

“With a C,” Barry précised.

Caitlin's face lit up. “Oooh! Did you know the Irish meaning is _friend?”_

Lisa smiled at her from Mick's lap: “We do now.”

“Where's the bubbles?” Mick demanded. “We need a toast!”

Yes, they definitely did.

While Barry and Cisco filled the glasses and passed them around, Leonard took one and filled it up for Lisa.

“Sorry, love,” he said as he handed it to her with a kiss on her hair. “You get soda.”

“Thanks, babe.”

When everyone had a glass in their hand, Len lifted his own and made to start his toast, but Mick interrupted him:

“Wait! We can't toast until the kid's born. It's bad luck.”

None of them was superstitious, but Barry had to agree it wouldn't be nice to make a toast to Cara without her being actually there. They were going to have a lot of occasions to celebrate her, starting with her imminent birth; besides, they had plenty of other reasons to drink to.

“Alright, then, let's toast to something else.” Barry glanced around the room is search of inspiration, but he quickly realised he didn't need it. He knew exactly what was worthy of a toast. He looked at Lisa, Mick holding her on his lap, and Len behind them, and Cisco and Caitlin, and rose his glass with a happy smile. “To family.”

Judging by everyone's faces, he had picked the right theme. Even Mick looked moved, even if he was trying his best not to let it show.

“To family!” they toasted, and the clinking of the glasses mixed with laughter and cheers, a sound so beautiful and addictive that Barry wondered how often they could host family lunches without falling into a pit of debt.

He couldn't believe how many things had changed, how far they'd come in the last six months, how he'd gone from complete misery to _this_ in such a short time span.

Everything was perfect.

Everything was good and happy and wonderful. Until he heard the sound of a glass crashing on the floor and Lisa's voice cry:

“Guys? I think my water just broke!”

_Oh, shit._

 

 

***

 

 _I had to fall_  
_Before I learned to stand up_  
_Repaint these walls_  
_A brighter shade of red and gold_  
— Red & Gold, Young Rising Sons

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe last chapter got NINE comments. I mean, it's not much, compared to common fanfics, ut given the themes of this particular story it's HUGE. I am humbled and honoured and so touched by everyone's beautiful words, I cannot possibly thank you all enough for walking this path with me and helping me get through my first multichapter fic in forever.
> 
> I'm not sure I'm done with these three, they have taken my heart and now won't let it go, so there are chances something else will come up in the future. If you guys have any prompts, please, feel free to share, my muse appreciates some inspiration!
> 
> P.S. of course, Cara is a homage to Peyton List's character in The Tomorrow People. It also sounded good with Snart, so I thought it'd be perfect.
> 
> To Sophia Catherine, who has no idea how I dragged her on board this ship: my friend, I have no idea how _I_

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are. Comment moderation is on: constructive criticism is welcome (as long as it doesn't criticise the pairing choices, that won't be tolerated).
> 
> If you don't like incest, I wonder why you came here in the first place.
> 
> If you liked this... thank you. I loved writing this and I'd love to know what you thought of it.


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